Warriors nip Lancers, grab solo Cesafi lead

Shooster Olago of the USC Warriors soars for a lay-up against three University of the Visayas players during their Seniors game in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. at the Cebu Coliseum. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

The University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors survived a feisty endgame stand by the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers last night to prevail, 69-66, and take the solo lead in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.

Cameroonian reinforcement Shooster Olago bailed the Warriors from the jaws of defeat with four freethrows in the game’s waning moments to seal their seventh win in eight outings.

The athletic 6-foot-8 forward finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Olago was complemented by the performance of fellow power forward Charles Pepito, who tallied 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.

It seemed as if the Green Lancers would avenge their overtime loss to USC in their first round encounter as they took the lead, 66-65, behind their grizzled veterans John Abad, who rattled in a triple to pull them within one, and Franz Arong, who hit the go-ahead layup with 45.4 seconds to go.

However, an aggressive Olago drew a foul on USC’s offensive and calmly made two freethrows to put the Warriors back in front with  41.2 ticks remaining.

UV had a shot to regain the lead but Abad missed his three-point attempt and Olago made two more from the line for a 69-66 lead.

The Green Lancers had one last chance but Arong missed the equalizer at the final buzzer as they limped to their fifth loss in nine games.

African import Jeff Aguara had 15 points for UV while Arong finished with 13.

In the juniors division, the UV Baby Lancers compensated for their elders’ setback by routing the USC Baby Warriors, 75-60, to take solo second place in the standings right behind the league-leading and unbeaten Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles.

The win was UV’s sixth in seven games while USC dropped to third place with a 4-2 record.

The UV trio of Jancork Cabahug, Joshua Flores and JC Escalona proved to be the biggest thorns on the side of USC as they shredded the Baby Warriors’ defense at will.

Cabahug finished with 17 points, eight boards and two steals while Flores added 15 markers while making his mark on the other side of the floor with three steals and two blocks. Escalona had an all-around stint with 12 points, six steals and five boards.