Tochukwu Ewenike of USJ-R dunks the ball in a Cesafi men’s basketball game against UC at the Cebu Coliseum.
The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars put a serious dent into the University of Cebu’s (UC) bid for a top two finish as they routed the Webmasters, 74-57, in the 2018 Cesafi men’s basketball tournament on Thursday at the Cebu Coliseum.
The win gave USJ-R a 7-3 (win-loss) record, half a game behind the second-place University of the Visayas (UV), which has an 8-3 card. UC fell to 9-2 with one more game left on their schedule — a marquee showdown on Sunday against bitter rivals UV.
The top two finishers after the elimination round will head to the Final Four, armed with a twice-to-beat advantage against seeds three and four.
UC was informed before the game that star guard Darrell Shane Menina would not be able to play as he had yet to render his four-hours of community service, his penance for his role in the post-game fracas against the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U).
From there, it was all downhill for the Webmasters as the Jaguars’ defense held their ground, anchored by the presence of their 6-foot-10 big man, Segamars Ewenike.
USJ-R led by only six, 31-25, at halftime but surged ahead in the third, which reigning MVP Jaybie Mantilla capped off with a buzzer-beating triple to give the Jaguars a commanding 57-43 lead heading to the last canto.
USJ-R raised their lead to a high of 17, 69-52, before cruising to the win.
Miguel Gastador led USJ-R in scoring with 18 points while Mantilla had 17 points and 11 assists along with four rebounds and four steals. Ewenike tallied 16 points, eight boards and three blocks.