THE UNIVERSITY of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers will try to throw the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles off the throne and regain the crown as the two bitter rivals square off in Game 2 of the 17th Cesafi high school basketball finals, today at the Cebu Coliseum.
UV gained the upper hand in the best-of-three series with a hard-earned 69-59 win in the series-opener last Tuesday night.
With the championship in sight, the Baby Lancers are going for the Magis Eagles’ jugular with a scrambling defense that held the four-time defending champions to a paltry 30 percent shooting clip.
UV head coach Delfin Pepito admitted he would be deploying more of the same in Game 2, which tips off at 5 p.m.
“Everything is mainly defense. All we need to do is focus on our defense,” said the many-time champion coach. “We have to be stronger and be more aggressive with it.”
UV was led by the 14 points of crafty guard Beirn Laurente, who in a talk with this writer, admitted that he is raring to go out in Game 2 and give his all to bring back the crown to the Baby Lancers’ camp.
“I don’t care if I die out there on the court so long as we come home with the title,” said the stocky guard.
For Ateneo de Cebu, it’s back to the drawing board as it tries to figure out a way to steal a win and extend the series to a decider this weekend.
“I have to give credit to UV. They had better intensity and hustle. They played their hearts out for 40 minutes. We need to match that for us to have a chance at extending the series,” said Ateneo de Cebu coach Rommel Rasmo.
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