EAGLES’ STREAK ENDS: Arriving just in time after getting stuck in traffic, Ateneo de Cebu struggles versus CIT-U

James Earl Regalado of USJ-R and UV’s Leonard Santillan battle for the loose ball in a Cesafi seniors battle-for-third game at the Cebu Coliseum. The Green Lancers won to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

The 2012 champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles got stuck in traffic and ended up being in a jam as they got upset by the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildkittens, 57-60, at the start of the second round of the semifinals of the Cesafi juniors basketball tournament yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Eagles arrived near tip-off after they got caught in the huge traffic jam that developed as a result of the fire that broke out  at barangay Luz, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.
Frazzled and stiff, the Eagles played like deer in headlights and as a result, managed just three points in the first canto before falling behind, 14-28, at halftime.

Bad turned to worse after 30 minutes of action as the Wildkittens played with confidence in spite of the injury that was suffered by star forward Justin Langres after falling hard on a fastbreak attempt.

They continued to lead, 48-25 and extended that to a high of 25 before the Eagles started to find their groove.

With Fil-Australian Joshua Sinclair and Zachy Huang lording over the shaded lane, the Eagles came to within two, 52-54, after two free-throws from the former. Sinclair even had a shot to tie the game with two more from the charity striple but bungled both, leading to a left-handed layup by CIT-U’s Jasper Berezo for a 58-54 count.

A free-throw by Ateneo de Cebu forward Janjan Jaboneta and an inside stab by Huang trimmed the deficit to just one, 57-58, with 9.8 ticks left. But Wildkitten Edgardo Acop strode to the line and made two before stealing the ball on the Eagles’ next offensive to seal the crucial victory, CIT-U’s first in four tries in this double round-robin Final Four.

Langres managed 15 points and five rebounds before going out for good in the third period. Joshua Manatad added 12 markers, five boards and three steals.

The loss was the Eagles’ first this season in 12 games. Sinclair paced the Eagles with 16 points and eight boards while Huang chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. In the seniors’ battle for third place series, the deposed champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers pulled away in the final frame to dump the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars (USJ-R), 67-61.

Rookie forward Jerome Napao had 18 points for UV,  which now leads the best-of-three series, 1-0.