SWU-Phinma’s Lamine Thiam tries to get past the defense of USJ-R’s Arnold Azangue.| Jonas Panerio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Southwestern University-Phinma Cobras came alive in the second half to thwart the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars, 82-70, in the 2019 Cesafi Partner’s Cup on Sunday, July 14, 2019, at the Cebu Coliseum.
Forced to make adjustments after losing a double-digit lead in the first half and fall behind by 11, 28-39, at halftime, the wards of head coach Mike Reyes suddenly played with renewed focus and energy, and opened the third with a 17-3 run sparked by the stellar play of Senegalese student-athlete Lamine Thiam to grab the upper hand, 45-42.
Veteran forward Dyll Roncal then joined the scoring party in the fourth canto, scoring eight points off of sharp cuts to the basket in a 14-2 rally that helped the Cobras erect a 69-54 lead that all but put the win in the bag for SWU-Phinma.
Thiam led the way for the Cobras, which improved to 6-2 (win-loss) with 28 points while Roncal added 20 markers. Shaquille Imperial also played a key role in the victory with 16 points.
USJ-R suffered its sixth loss in eight games in spite of the 20 points of Miguel Gastador and the 17 of Arnold Azangue.