Games today (Cebu Coliseum)
5 p.m. – CEC vs SWU (High School)
6:30 p.m. – UC vs SWU (College)
The Cebu Institute of Technology-University threw a wrench into the Final Four plans of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation as they upset the Panthers, 92-90, Sunday night for their very first win in the 17th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
Wily left-handed forward Mark Kong exploded for 33 points capped by two free-throws with 26 seconds left that proved to be the marginal points in the back-and-forth contest. Kong also hauled down eight rebounds and added two assists, three steals and two blocked shots to give the Wildcats their first victory after going winless in the first round.
Mariel Munez and Steven Bucao also submitted stellar numbers as the former had 24 points and seven rebounds while the latter had 11 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals before fouling out early in the fourth canto.
The Wildcats were behind, 61-73, in the fourth but rallied to take the lead, 83-81, after a pull-up jumper by Munez with 3:02 left. Later, CIT-U surged ahead by four, 90-86, after two free-throws by diminutive guard Marl Laguna, 1:08 on the clock.
But USPF managed to tie the game up at 90-all after two free-throws and a lay-up off a wild drive by forward Lugie Cuyos. But on the ensuing play, the Panthers lost track of Kong who got the outlet pass, drove hard to the rack and got fouled. He coolly sank both to give the Wildcats a 92-90 edge with just 26 seconds remaining.
The Panthers had several chances to equalize but Edwin Villarta missed a contested lay-up while RR Cauba couldn’t get his tip-in to go in as the final buzzer sounded.
The loss was a costly one for the Panthers who had their eyes set on catching up with the University of Cebu and the University of San Jose-Recoletos, both of whom tote 4-2 records, in the race for slots in the Final Four.
Instead, they fell to 2-5. Lyndon Colina paced the squad with 23 points.
Meanwhile in today’s games, the UC Webmasters seek a tie of second place in the standings when they tangle with the listless Southwestern University-Phinma Cobras. A win today by UC will force a tie with the idle University of San Carlos Warriors, which holds a 5-2 card.
The Cobras on the other hand, are dying for a win after finishing the first round with a horrendous 1-5 record.