Frederick Elombi of UC is uncontested as he goes for a shot in a game against USPF last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
Lito Tecson
WITH THEIR offense sputtering for long stretches, the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters tightened up their defense, locking up the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers in the second half to come away with a 55-45 win in the 2018 Cesafi men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
The win, UC’s sixth in as many games, gave them a sweep of the first round.
USPF on the other hand, dropped to third place with a 4-2 (win-loss) card.
With the Webmasters shooting just 32 percent from the field, they dug deep on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Panthers scoreless for more than six minutes in the fourth, while Darrell Shane Menina, Paul Galinato, Justine Dacalos and Frederick Elombe all waxed hot in a huge 24-2 run bridging the third and fourth periods to help turn a nine point deficit into a 51-38 lead.
USPF hung tough and pulled to within eight, 43-51, but UC guard Justine Dacalos stole the ball away twice while Paul Galinato scored on a hard drive to the rack to bring the lead back to 10, and seal the win for the Webmasters.
Menina scored 17 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out five assists and had five steals to lead UC. Elombe added 16 points and 15 rebounds.
In the opener, the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars clawed their way back from an 18-point deficit and took down the University of San Carlos Warriors, 101-93.
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.