John Benedick Damolo of Don Bosco evades the defense of SWU’s Matthew Earl Flores in their Cesafi juniors game at the Cebu Coliseum. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Greywolves hold off SWU Baby Cobras to remain spotless in Cesafi juniors basketball
The Don Bosco Greywolves kept their immaculate slate intact, staving off repeated rallies by the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Baby Cobras to chalk up an 83-74 win yesterday in the juniors division of the 16th Cesafi basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Greywolves tightened their grip on the No. 1 spot in the team standings with their fourth straight victory, while the Baby Cobras fell to an even 2-2 (win-loss) card.
“We are just trying to be consistent. We want to improve every game, work on our weaknesses and we must stay humble,” said Don Bosco head coach Ron Rosito.
The Greywolves led by as many as 13 points in the first half and threatened to pull away in the third period when they posted the game’s biggest lead, 57-36, in the 6:40 mark.
SWU didn’t give up easily, ending the third with a torrid run to move within striking distance entering the final stanza, 57-65.
Focus on defense
The Baby Cobras continued to threaten when they closed the gap at 65-70 in the final 7:02 but the Greywolves uncorked a 6-0 blast to restore a double-digit spread, 76-65 with 3:14 to go.
“We are a sound team defensively. Playing good defense is our main focus since offense will not be problem because of our experienced players,” said Rosito.
Indeed, scoring was never a problem for Don Bosco as it had five players scoring in twin digits.
Grenald Malubay led the way for the Greywolves with 17 points, while Jomari James Ranuco and John Benedick Damolo added 15 each. Juan Miguel Dela Tore pitched in 10.
Jun Reign Baculio topped the Baby Cobras with 17 markers and Joshua Claracay had 16.
Diether John Quijada tallied 13 and Lorenzo Isip had 10 for SWU, which shot itself in the foot when it scored just two points in first five minutes of the third while giving away 15 points.