SWU-Phinma versus USC at the Cebu Coliseum on Tuesday night. photo by Christian Maningo
The old Warriors magic was at it once again as the University of San Carlos (USC) escaped with a nail-biting 56-55 win over the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Cobras for their fifth straight win in the 17th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the New Cebu Coliseum.
Pushed to the brink by a Cobras squad that fought hard in spite of the absence of star guard John Lloyd Luz – who was serving a suspension – and later, starting center Reeve Ugsang, who suffered a sprained ankle, the Warriors turned to a familiar hero in John Reel Saycon.
And the rookie forward delivered, sinking the go-ahead basket, a game after banking in a buzzer-beating jumper that helped USC send the game against the University of Cebu (UC) to overtime last time out.
Lucky Ecarma led the Warriors with 16 points, spiked by four three-pointers. Saycon finished with just nine, but his impact was felt beyond the box score with his terrific play in the clutch.
The game was tied for the last time at 54-all after SWU-Phinma guard William Polican split his free-throws with 1:11 to go. But Saycon responded with a quick spin move that left Cobras big man Edmundo Bayhonan in the dust, before rising up and making a deft left-handed layup.
The Cobras had several chances shot to tie or win the game but squandered them all.
First, Shaquille Imperial split his free throws to pull them within one, 55-56, 44.2 ticks remaining. Then, with the seconds slipping away, sophomore forward Arnel Molina rose up for a midrange jumper from the right wing that fell short.
The Warriors grabbed the rebound and Victor Rabat dribbled the time away, sealing USC’s undefeated run after four games so far.
Imperial led SWU-Phinma with 14 points but shot 5-of-16 from the field.
Bayhonan made up for Ugsang’s absence and registered 13 points and nine boards. However, his fine night was marred by a 3-of-11 clip from the charity stripe.
The Cobras now find themselves in unfamiliar territory, dropping to the bottom of the standings at 1-3 (win-loss).
Wildkittens 72, Baby Warriors 69
In the high school division, the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildkittens won their very first game of the season in stunning fashion as they took down the USC Baby Warriors, 72-68.
Antonio Ancit brought his A-game and finished with 21 points to help CIT-U improve to 1-4. Kim Trigue helped him out by scoring 13.
The Baby Warriors fell to an even 2-2 for the tournament.