Photo caption: USP-F Panthers’ players and coaching staff gather at center court for a group photo after bagging their fourth win in the Cesafi college basketball. CDN Digital photo | Dale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Panthers scored a 63-59 come-from-behind victory over the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars in a Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball game Thursday evening, November 3, 2022, at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Panthers grabbed their third straight win and improved to a 4-1 (win-loss), good for second place behind the top-ranked and unbeaten University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers, who are at 4-0.
Dave Paulo top scored for USPF with 11 points while fellow shooter Karl Marvin Langahin added nine.
Jay Deiparine had 13 for the Jaguars, who suffered their fourth defeat in five games, tying with the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats at the bottom of the standings.
Watch the highlights of the game here:
The Panthers were trailing for most part of the game with the Jaguars maintaining an eight-point lead, 34-42, midway through the third period.
However, Paulo and Neon Chavez’s efforts brought the Panthers to within four, 40-44, heading into the final period.
Justine Langres managed to stretch the Jaguars’ lead to six, 46-40, to start the fourth period.
However, the Panthers came alive and unleashed a 15-0 run to grab a nine point lead, 55-46, with three minutes remaining in the game with Langahin leading the offense with two triples.
The Jaguars managed to pull themselves to within two, 55-57, with 39 seconds left after Deiparine nailed a triple, but Chavez sank a timely jump shot that gave the Panthers a two-possession lead.
With time not on their side, the Jaguars were left to take their chances by fouling but the Panthers converted their freethrow shots to seal the game.
USPF returns into action on Saturday, November 5, 2022, as they face the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors for their second round meeting. The Jaguars will try to bounce back by taking on CIT-U also on Sunday.
/bmjo
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