CESAFI: Don Bosco tops Baby Lancers in brawl rematch

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The underdog is on the rise as the Don Bosco Technological Center (DBTC) Greywolves posted their second straight win in the high school basketball division of the 16th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) by edging the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers, 76-74, in a heart attack-inducing game at the New Cebu Coliseum in downtown Cebu City on Saturday, August 13.

A sizeable crowd of mostly supporters for both teams gathered to watch as the first meeting of these junior teams in this inter-collegiate league following a bench-clearing incident involving both teams in a pre-CESAFI tournament last month in the municipality of Cordova.

The incident resulted into the highest fine ever meted by the CESAFI at P110,000. Both teams were also suspended in the said tournament.

The incident prompted the CESAFI officials to amend the suspension rule to now include coaches in the incident of a bench-clearing scuffle to which the coaches were involved.

The Greywolves, however, were not fazed by the incident and even won their first game during the opening of the league last Saturday, August 6, an 81-70 win over the USC Baby Warriors to end a 3-year drought for the team.

 

Action-Packed Game But Incident-Free

As expected, the game was action-filled especially in the final canto that had the Greywolves erasing an 8-point lead following an 8-0 run by the Baby Lancers with a little more than 6 minutes left in the ballgame.

Geo Ibero started the comeback for the Greywolves with a basket in the 3:04 mark. This was immediately followed with a 3-point play by Juan Miguel dela Torre which brought DBTC just 4 points behind UV.

Ken Gato allowed the Greywolves to trail by just a point, 71-72, just as the last 2-minute mark was announced. DBTC then took a slim 1-point lead courtesy of Al Mendez who tipped in a failed attempt of Gato.

With 14.7 seconds left, Froiland Maglasang lost the ball to Gato on an inbound pass. Ibero then sealed the win for DBTC.

Mendez topscored for the Greywolves with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Gato and Dela Torre contributed 11 points each while Jomari James Ranuco added 10. 

Raul Jancork Cabahug once again led the Baby Lancers with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks. Maglasang chipped in 11 points while Ivan Jay Maata handed in an almost double-double performance of 10 points and 9 boards.

The other high school games saw the defending champion Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles and the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons winning by large margins over their opponents.

The Magis Eagles annihilated the Cebu Institute of Technology University (CITU) Wildkittens, 82-36, while the Dragons demolished the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers, 84-63.

Although UV and DBTC had behaved themselves during their game, it was a different story in the USPF-CEC match which saw one junior player getting ejected.

USPF’s Joepel Ducay was ejected for punching Jean Andric Banez in the 3:48 mark of the fourth quarter. For committing the unsportsmanlike foul, Ducay will be meted with a one game suspension, a P5,000 fine and four hours of community service. 

SWU Cobras Makes it 2-0

In the lone collegiate match, the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras cruised to their second straight win despite fumbling a 15-point lead against the CITU Wildcats, 68-64.

The Wildcats had trailed by as much as 12 points in the first and second quarter but started closing in in the second half with just a 4-point deficit going into the final canto, 46-50.

With just seconds remaining in the ballgame, the Wildcats managed to come as close as just a basket behind the Cobras but the former MVP, Mark Jayven Tallo, came to the rescue for SWU with four straight points and sealed the team’s second consecutive win this season.

Schedule for Sunday, August 14 at New Cebu Coliseum

High School

1 pm – USJR vs USC

2:30 pm – UC vs SWU

College 

4 pm – UV vs UC

5:30 pm – USC vs USPF 

– Rappler.com