Cebu City, Philippines—The University of Cebu (UC) made sure this one wouldn’t slip away.
The Webmasters once again built an early lead but this time held on to it until the final buzzer to pull off a 57-53 victory over the University of San Carlos (USC) in the battle-for-third game of the Cesafi men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday, November 19, 2019, at the Cebu Coliseum.
It was sweet revenge for UC, which surrendered a 25-point lead and lost in overtime during last year’s third place game also against USC.
There were some scary moments for UC in the fourth.
UC led by as many as 19 at the start of the second but USC again threatened to steal the win as it came to within 51-55 under the final two minutes of the game.
But Darrell Shane Menina delivered the killer blow, driving past his defender to make it 57-51 with 52 seconds left.
USC’s Sommy Managor, who sank a miracle three-pointer that sent the game to overtime last year, made it 53-57 on two freebies with 49 seconds left but both teams exchanged empty possessions in the ensuing plays.
Menina, who said he is playing his final year with UC, had 14 points for the winning squad. /bmjo
Here’s our post-game interview with Menina: