CESAFI: Clutch shooting hands USC first loss

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A clutch three-pointer from Jovanie Luz with less than 10 seconds left sent the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras jumping in jubilation as they avenged their first season loss to the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 79-77, August 30, Sunday in the ongoing 15^th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men’s basketball tournament held at the New Cebu Coliseum.

It was reminiscent of last year’s finals series as the defending champion Cobras dealt the Warriors, the current league leader, their first loss of the season.

It was a day of upsets as the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CITU) Wildcats also fashioned a 93-88 victory over the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers in the other collegiate game.

In the junior division, defending champion Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) solidified its hold of the top spot with a 76-62 dismantling of the University of Cebu (UC) Junior Webmasters while the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) Baby Jaguars added another win to their record with a 71-42 demolition of the Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) Greywolves, who absorbed their seventh loss in as many games.

Luz, who was swarmed by his teammates right after sinking his winning trey, was aptly honored as the best player of the ballgame. He finished with 20 points which he scored all in the second half, 2 rebounds and 4 assists.

Reigning most valuable player Mark Jayven “Macmac” Tallo topscored for the Cobras with 23 points, four of which he scored from the arc in the first half but Luz was named the best player for his game-winning shot. Tallo, who was on fire in the first half, also finished with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Warriors had already warned that they will not easily give up the title despite only having nine men in their lineup. And so far, they’ve had just two losses, the first they suffered at the hands of the Warriors and the second inflicted by the Green Lancers last August 27, which means they have four wins in six games.

The Cobras was trailing the Warriors by a point, 76-77, courtesy of Tallo right before the last two minute mark was called. The Warriors tried several three-point attempts to pull away but Caesar Ian Ortega, Victor Manuel Rabat and Izak Kiefer Lim all missed their attempts.

With 35 seconds remaining, the Warriors tried to go to their reliable import, Shooster Olago, who positioned under the basket, but the Cameroonian couldn’t get a shot as three Cobras trapped him and the Warriors was forced to turn over the ball. The ball, however, changed hands twice before the Cobras got a grip of it with 20 seconds remaining.

With the seconds tapering out, the Cobras went to Tallo, who tried to go for a layup. Seeing that he couldn’t get past the Warriors’ press from under the net, he took the ball out and pass it to Luz, who promptly pulled up for the three-pointer.

The defending champion was eager to draw blood as they waxed hot from the start to end the first quarter with an 8-point advantage, 21-13.

The Warriors, however, managed to get close and tied the ball at 28-all on a triple from Nicolas Kyle Magat with four minutes left before the halftime break.

The Cobras answered with two treys from Tallo and a jumper from Jesse Bautista but the Warriors managed to orchestrate another deadlock at the end of the first half on back-to-back rainbow shots from Rabat and Ortega.

In the third quarter, the Warriors managed to wrestle the lead and even put up an 8-point gap, 46-54, on a triple from Magat. But the Cobras couldn’t be held off as they came closer and cut down the Warriors lead to just three points going into the final canto.

In the other collegiate match, the CITU Wildcats improved their win-loss record to 3-4 while the UV Green Lancers absorbed their second loss of the season for a 5-2 card.

On the rare time that Jose Allan Dimco was sinking his baskets, he clinched the best player tag with his 28 points, 8 rebound, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He formed a formidable combination with Joshua Romelle Dela Cerna, who also finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist.

The Wildcats unsheathed their claws to end the first quarter with an 8-point advantage, 23-15. The Green Lancers led by Jun Kent Manzo III, managed to come close and end the second quarter in a 46-all tie.

The Wildcats once again managed to distance themselves and put up as much as 7 points in the third quarter but the Green Lancers once again rallied to tie the game at 72-all, the 10^th tie of the ballgame, going into the final quarter.

In the fourth canto, the Green Lancers tried to come close again but they never managed another tie as the Wildcats successfully stayed ahead.

Magis Eagles top Junior Webmasters

In the juniors contest, defending champion Magis Eagles was never threatened after the Junior Webmasters not only missed a lot of their attempts but also committed travelling violation several times.

With the Magis Eagles holding the highest lead at 23 points in the second quarter, the closest the Junior Webmasters could come was t 9 points with less than three minutes remaining in the ballgame.

The Magis Eagles continues to keep an immaculate record of 6-0 while the Junior Webmasters dropped to 5-3.

In the other juniors game, the Greywolves were no match for the Baby Jaguars as they were held to just two points in the first quarter, 2-17.

The Jaguars’ lead ballooned to as much as 29 points in the final canto which Jan Paul Saludes tried to cut down with his back-to-back treys but to no avail.

Although, already eliminated from the tournament, the Greywolves still has a chance to at least post a win as they go up against CITU Wildkittens for their last game.

Meanwhile, only the junior games will be played tomorrow as the collegiate match featuring SWU and UC have been rescheduled to September 3 at the request of the SWU as they will be afforded no rest having just gone up against the USC tonight.

 

Games Schedule 

August 31, Monday at the New Cebu Coliseum

1 PM – CEC vs UV

2:30 PM – DBTC vs CIT-U

4 PM – USC vs SHS-AdC

 

Scores:

Seniors

 

First game:

CIT-U (93) – Dela Cerna 28, Dimco 28, Pono 17, Taghoy 9, Lucena 8, Sanchez 3, Bucao 0, Kong 0.

UV (88) – Manzo 22, Suerte 17, Santillan 11, Napao 8, Akomo 7, Cabañero 6, Segumpan 6, Codilla 4, Mendoza 3, Arong 2, Aguirre 2, Macion 0.

Quarter Scores: 23-15; 46-46; 72-72; 93-88.

Second game:

SWU (79) – Tallo 23, Luz 20, Auditor 12, Bautista 10, Holper 8, Pardo 5, Racho 0, Gonzaga 0, Clam 0.

USC (77) – Olago 18, Rabat 14, Tagapan 9, Ortega 9, Lim 8, Pepito 6, McAloney 6, Magat 3, Laguyo 2, Maconocido 0, Suarez 0.

Quarter Scores: 21-13; 36-36; 61-64; 79-77.

Juniors

First Game:

USJ-R (71) – Gonzaga 20, Ando 14, Enriquez 9, Cruz 7, Ibero 6, Dado 5, Camacho 4, Ortiz 3, Teleron 2, Dela Cruz 1, Cabatingan 0, Bascon 0, Leonora 0.

DBTC (42) – De La Torre 12, Macam 9, Saludes 7, Duque 6, Adlawan 3, Ciabo 2, Lim 1, Sta. Cruz 1, Larumbe 1, Gabisay 0.

Quarter Scores: 17-2; 26-13; 46-26; 71-42.

Second game:

SHS-AdC (76) – Pastor 19, Mantua 18, Velasco 8, Manaytay 8, Colonia 7, P. Yu 6, Bersaluna 4, Visser 3, Chen 3, Javelosa 0, Calumpang 0, J. Yu 0, Chua 0.

UC (62) – Mangubat 22, Cuyos 11, Gabisan 8, Abejo 6, Labrada 5, Soco 4, Umpad 3, Malubay 2, Pando 1, Hemida 0, Florita 0, Ecal 0, Santome 0, Cabansay 0.

Quarter Scores: 18-12; 42-23; 56-43; 76-62.

– Rappler.com