The USJ-R Jaguars pose for a group photo after beating the USC Warriors in the Cesafi men’s basketball on Saturday evening, November 19, 2022. | Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars secured the No. 3 spot in the men’s college standings of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) basketball league after manhandling the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 82-58, on Saturday, November 19, at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Jaguars now have four wins and four losses to dislodge the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters momentarily for the No. 3 spot heading into the playoffs.
The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers remain on top of the team standings with a 7-1 (win-loss) record, followed by the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) with a 7-3 (win-loss) card.
The Jaguars have two remaining games in their schedule which they also must win, in order for them to remain at the top four spots for the playoffs.
It was a sweet revenge for the Jaguars after they got beaten by the Warriors, 67-81, last October 25, 2022,
“Dili pa secured, dili pa mo kumpyansa, importante ni tanan games namo. Stay focused lang sa mga players ug sa coaching staff, pero credit pud nila tanan ani among kadaugan kay napildi mi ani nila pag una namo nga game,” said USJ-R’s current head coach Lyle Antipuesto.
During their beatdown against the Warriors, Elmer Echavez led the Jaguars with 22 points, while Carl Cabulao had 13 markers, and Jay Deiparine with 10 points.
James Gica was the lone double-digit scorer with 10 points, while Andre Chua had nine, as the Warriors dropped to a 3-6 (win-loss) record.
The Warriors was trailing throughout the game after getting plagued with turnovers after turnovers, while they also had terrible shooting, which paved the way for the Jaguars to convert into points.
The Jaguars headed into halftime with an 11-point cushion, 41-30.
In the third period, they stretched their lead to 19 points, 60-41, with Deiparine topping it with a triple.
In the final period, USJ-R established their biggest lead of 20-points, 63-43, and didn’t look back all the way to their huge win.
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