The USC Warriors pose for a group photo after beating the USJ-R Jaguars in the Cesafi men’s basketball tournament. | By Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors earned their second win in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball by drowning the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, 81-67, on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, at the Cebu Coliseum.
It was a much-needed win for the Warriors of head coach Paul Joven who lost to the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats, 72-76, in overtime last October 22, 2022.
The Warriors came up big in the second half with Froiland Mangubat scoring 12 of his 13 points in the final period.
Roosevelt Jelliangao stepped up with 17 points, while Andre Chua chipped in 10 markers.
The Jaguars’ Carl Cabulao and Matthew Carin each scored 10 points as they suffered their second defeat in three games.
Both teams fought tooth and nail in the first half and early parts of the third period, resulting in six deadlocks.
With the game tied at 43-all, in the third period, the Warriors uncorked a 12-0 run which put them ahead, 55-43, through Vhan Joshua Baruc, Chua, and Jelliangao.
However, the Jaguars retaliated with their own scoring run courtesy of Jay Deiparine and Niño Matthew Paras and pulled to within four, 54-58, heading into the final period.
The Warriors came alive in the final period by unleashing another scoring run with Mangubat doing all the work to grab a comfortable 15-point cushion, 72-57, and didn’t look back until the final buzzer sounded.
The Warriors will return to action on Sunday, October 30, 2022, against the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Panthers at 5:00 PM.
On the other hand, the Jaguars face the unbeaten University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers on Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 5:00 PM.
The first game on Tuesday between the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) and the CIT-U Wildkittens was moved to another date according to deputy commissioner Danny Duran, due to unknown reasons. /rcg
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