The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers added another championship to their trophy case as they captured the title in the 2nd Cabanero Cup Inter-Collegiate Basketball Tournament with a 97-88 win over the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildcats in the finals on Sunday night at the Bulacao Sports Complex.
Motivated to make up for the championship loss suffered by their high school counterparts earlier in the day, the Green Lancers ran and scored in transition every chance they could and established a 20-point lead, 57-37.
However, they had to buckle down late and leaned on the clutch plays of reigning Cesafi MVP Rey Suerte to fend off a spirited comeback attempt by the Wildcats led by Joshua dela Cerna, who scored a whopping 48 points.
The victory netted UV the crown and the P50,000 cash prize that came with it, a year after they fell short and lost to the University of San Jose-Recoletos in the finals of this very same tournament.
Suerte finished with 20 points, but none more important than the seven he scored in a 13-2 run late in the fourth that brought the Green Lancers’ lead back to 17, 95-78, after it got trimmed down to six. The Compostela Valley-native was eventually named Most Valuable Player of the competition.
Speedy guard Sheldon Gahi, now tasked to inherit the chief point guard duties with the departure of veteran Alfred Codilla, had 14 markers while skipper Josue Segumpan added 12.