SWU Cobras win vs CITU Wildcats

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc (CESAFI) defending champion Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras survived the 4th quarter onslaught mounted by the Cebu Institute of Technology University (CITU) Wildcats, 69-64, at the Cebu Coliseum Saturday, August 8, to earn their first win this season.

CESAFI’s 2014 Most Valuable Player Mark Jayven Tallo was aptly named best player of the ballgame with his 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Cobras were in danger of absorbing their second straight loss when Wildcats’ Joshua Romelle dela Cerna opened the final quarter with two straight baskets to bring down the defending champions’ lead to 3 at 54-51.

SWU’s Jesse Bautista kept the CITU at bay with his basket, 56-51, but Dela Cerna once again brought the lead down to 3 at 56-53.

It looked like CITU was about to score an upset when Jovanie Luz failed to catch a pass with less than 5 minutes remaining in the ballgame and SWU leading by only 4 points, 57-53. This had his head coach, Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba hollering at Luz.

He, however, made up for his mistake by intercepting the ball in the return play and scoring on a fastbreak to bring back SWU’s lead up by 6 points, 59-53.

A triple from Melvin Holper with less than 4 minutes on the clock allowed SWU to stretch its lead to 11 points, 64-53. 

However, the Wildcats were awarded with 3 bonus shots and possession of the ball when Tallo was called for a foul, and just seconds later hit with a technical foul for attempting to reason out the earlier call which the referee deemed a protest.

After Dela Cerna sank two of his 3 free throws, teammate Jose Marlo Pono allowed the Wildcats to continue nipping at the Cobras’ tail. Holper, however, came to the rescue again, this time by sinking his two free throws.

Tallo gave the Cobras a 6-point lead at 68-62 right after the last two-minute mark was announced. Jose Allan Dimco gave the Wildcats hope by bringing his team’s score up by two points. However, the Wildcats failed to add to their score, while Luz pulled the Cobras up by a point by splitting his charities, 69-64.

With the seconds tapering out, Pono and Luz nearly came to blows with the CITU cager, complaining that he was hit by the latter with an elbow. Cooler heads, however, prevailed, and the game went on with SWU clinching its first win of the season for a 1-1 win-loss record. CITU, on the otherhand, now has two losses in as many games. 

Juniors

In the junior division, the first game saw the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons clawing back to avoid what would have been their first defeat of the season by holding the Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) Baby Greywolves to just 3 points in the final canto for a 60-42 win.

Vince Ryan Tecson topscored for the Dragons with 16 points, 12 of which were from 4 triples all scored in the final quarter. 

The win allowed the Dragons to keep a clean slate with a 2-0 win-loss record, while the Baby Greywolves have yet to barge into the winning column.

Perhaps the most shocking development in the high school contest was last year’s first runner-up University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers absorbing a 43-65 loss to the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) Baby Jaguars deemed as one of the team’s worst performances in recent history.

The loss put UV on the same level as the USJR as each tote a 1-1 win-loss record.

The last game for the Juniors division had University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors also enjoying a 2-0 record with their 76-67 win over the University of Cebu (UC) Junior Webmasters, which has split their games so far this season.

The Junior Webmasters though have a chance to add to their winnings as they face the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Sunday, August 9, still at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games on Sunday, August 9, at the Cebu Coliseum:

1 pm – CITU vs SHS-AdC (JRS)

2:30 pm – USPF vs UC (JRS)  

4 pm –  UV vs UC (SRS)

5:30 pm – USC vs USPF (SRS)

Boxscores: 

1st Game:

CEC (60) – Tecson 16, A. Roa 15, Leopoldo 12, Galarse 6, Orillaneda 6, Tempra 5, Sullano 0, Astillero 0, M. Casio 0, Abarquez 0, Canoy 0, L. Casio 0, Guillemer 0.

DBTC (42) – Lim 21, Ciabo 6, Quieta 5, De La Torre 5, Gabisay 2, Adlawan 2, Macam 1, Sta. Cruz 0, Duque 0, Mabitad 0, Cañoneo 0, Saludes 0, Larumbe 0.

Quarter Scores: 10-9; 15-26; 37-39; 60-42.

2nd Game: 

USJ-R (65) – Ortiz 15, Gonzaga 12, Ibero 9, Enriquez 7, Teleron 7, Dado 4, Dela Cruz 4, Ando 2, Cruz 2, Bascon 2, Leonora 1, Camacho 0, Cabatingan 0, Himmelsbach 0.

UV (43) – Cabahug 13, Amistoso 10, Maglasang 8, Ra. Alforque 3, Yerro 3, Evardo 2, Paraldo 2, Laurente 1, Saliot 1, Balazuela 0, Valenzuela 0, Ro. Alforque 0, Oche 0.

Quarter Scores: 9-12; 22-28; 46-34; 65-43.

3rd Game:

USC (76) – Laurente 18, Chavez 11, Mangaron 8, Macandog 7, Damolo 6, Fontanosa 5, Pakanna 4, Mendoza 4, Mendez 4, Canieso 4, Bande 3, Gato 2, Ranuco 0.

UC (67) – Mangubat 14, Cuyos 13, Abejo 11, Gabisan 8, Umpad 6, Hemida 4, Intrampas 4, Labrada 3, Soco 3, Malubay 2, Santome 0, Ecal 0, Cabansay 0, Florita 0, Pando 0.

Quarter Scores: 22-15; 41-24; 63-45; 76-67.

4th Game:

SWU (69) – Tallo 14, Holper 14, Luz 10, Bautista 9, Pardo 8, Racho 8, Auditor 6, Clam 0, Gonzaga 0.

CIT-U (64) – Dela Cerna 20, Dimco 10, Pono 9, Brigoli 7, Lucena 5, Bucao 3, Kong 3, Aloro 3, Muñez 2, Mumar 2, Sanchez 0, Taghoy 0.

Quarter Scores: 16-10; 39-29; 54-47; 69-64.

– Rappler.com