Games today:
New Cebu Coliseum
5 p.m. – CEC vs USJ-R (High School)
6:45 p.m. – USC vs USPF (College)
The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars blitzed the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats in the second period and never looked back en route to logging in a masterful 97-60 victory in the 17th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday night at the New Cebu Coliseum.
USJ-R’s vaunted duo of RJ Dinolan and Jaybie Mantilla went to work early and often as they registered solid numbers across the board to tow the Jaguars to their first win of the newly opened season.
Dinolan, a hulking forward, had 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals while Mantilla, a jittery bug of a guard, finished with 15 markers, five boards and four assists.
Rookie Julius Pacanuayan had an impressive debut with a near double-double of 14 points and nine rebounds while Tricky Peromingan added 10 points and two steals.
Sporting shockingly yellow uniforms, USJ-R gained some separation in the second canto where a 10-2 run helped give them a 41-26 half-time lead. Then in the third, a 13-1 run dug the Wildcats into an even deeper hole, as Mantilla capped off that sizzling stretch with consecutive fastbreak lay-ups to give them a 63-36 lead, heading to the game’s final chapter.
A 16-7 rally by the Wildcats trimmed the deficit to 18, but the Jaguars rattled off a 27-8 blast to finish off the game and put the win in the bag.
Steve Bucao scored 18 for CIT-U, which suffered their second straight loss. Mark Kong added 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors will try to follow up on their stunning 78-73 upset win of the defending champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers when they face off against the retooled University of Southern Philippines Foundation Panthers today at 6:45 p.m.
In high school action, two more squads make their season debuts as the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons battle the USJ-R Baby Jaguars in the curtain-raiser at 5 p.m.
The scores:
USJ-R (97) Dinolan 15, Mantilla 15, Pacanuayan 14, Peromingan 10, Gastador 8, Ubalde 8, Navarra 7, Cabrera 6, Calang 6, Catiloc 4, Compra 3, Mangaron 1
CIT-U (60) Bucao 18, Kong 17, Sable 6, Mumar 3, Munez 3, Rosell 3, Con-ui 2, Igloria 2, Jabines 2, Laguna 2, Nemil 2
Quarterscores: 17-10, 41-26, 63-36, 97-60
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
