USJ-R’s Miguel Gastador soars for a layup in a Cesafi men’s basketball game against USC on Tuesday at the Cebu Coliseum. | Lito Tecson
THE UNIVERSITY of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars clawed their way back from an 18-point deficit to take down the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 101-93, in the 2018 Cesafi men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
The win placed the Jaguars in solo second place, finishing the first round of eliminations with a 5-1 win-loss card. The Warriors dropped to 2-4.
Playing uninspired basketball, the Jaguars found themselves in a 29-47 hole before waking up to uncork a 16-6 run that was sparked by RJ Dinolan and Miguel Gastador to pull to within six, 45-51, at halftime.
They then took complete control of the match late in the third, with a sizzling 15-1 run that was fueled by reserve forward Nichole Ubalde, who scored eight straight in just 14 seconds to propel USJ-R to a 76-70 advantage heading to the fourth.
Ubalde led USJ-R with 24 points and seven rebounds while Dinolan finished with a double-double of 21 markers and 10 boards. Jaybie Mantilla, the reigning MVP, nearly had a triple-double of 19 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
Sommy Managor had 20 points for USC but was limited to just 21 minutes of action due to foul trouble.