THE UNIVERSITY of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars punctuated their stint in the elimination round with a resounding 91-47 win over Malaysia in the Asia Pacific University Games basketball tournament yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
The win gave the Jaguars a 4-1 win-loss record, but it might not be enough to land them in the finals after they got beaten by the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 77-87, in a game held in San Fernando on Saturday night.
The win was USC’s third in a row, giving them a 3-1 card. They were taking on the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers as of press time with a win putting them in the finals, today at 4 p.m. A loss however, would send USJ-R to the finals.
The reigning Cesafi champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers was taking on the team from China as of this writing. They too hold a 3-1 mark, with a victory also pushing them straight to the finals.
Cesafi MVP Jaybie Mantilla led USJ-R with 16 points while the high-flying Miguel Gastador tallied 11. Julius Pacanuayan and JJ Calang had 10 markers each to send the Malaysians home without a single win in five matches.
In the game held in San Fernando, wide-bodied big man Malcolm Tan and Cesafi Mythical Five member John Reel Saycon were at the tip of USC’s attack as they each fired in 13 points. Froilan Mangubat swished three shots from beyond the arc and finished with 12 markers.
RJ Dinolan and Fletcher Galvez had 20 each for USJ-R, but the Jaguars got little else from the rest of the squad.