UC Webmasters players and coaching staff pose at center court after crushing the Verallo Blue Dragons in Cesafi college basketball on Thursday night. | Photo by Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The UC Webmasters took the solo lead in the college division standings after drubbing the Felipe R. Verallo Foundation College (FVFC) Blue Dragons, 86-47, in the Cebu Schools Athletics Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) hoop wars on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Webmasters climbed to 5-0 (win-loss) and dislodged erstwhile co-leader and defending champions, the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers (4-0).
Contrastingly, the Blue Dragons, one of the four newcomers in the Cesafi remains the only winless team in the college division after six outings.
The Blue Dragons of veteran and former CAAA champion coach Norberto “Titing” Manalili are mired at the bottom of the standings with a 0-6 card.
Five UC players finished with double-digit scores. Luther Leonard led the Webmasters anew, with 14 points, while Danie Lapiz added 13 markers.
READ: With Fajardo watching, UC cruises to 4-0 in Cesafi
Former University of San Carlos (USC) guard Roosevelt Jelianggao tallied his first double-digit output for the Webmasters with 10 points. Charles Libatog and John Regie Dajab also tallied 10 markers.
Joie Perino had 13 points, while Vince Albao added 12 points in the Blue Dragons’ worst beating in Cesafi.
During the game, the Webmasters trampled on the newcomers with a lopsided 25-4 first-period score.
The Webmasters then erected a 40-point cushion, 56-16, at halftime, and even stretched this to 42 points, 62-20, at the start of the second half.
The Blue Dragons showed some fight and were able to cut their deficit to just 29, 36-65, heading into the final canto.
Unfortunately for them, the Webmasters came roaring back by greeting the fourth period with a deafening, 19-5 run to bring the lead back to 43, 82-41, which all but took the life out of the Blue Dragons.
Incredibly, the Webmasters did this masterful demolition of the Blue Dragons without their head coach Atty. Kern Sesante and veteran forward Jhey Paraldo.
Instead, Caleb Gawangan who leads the high school division’s top-ranked and undefeated UCLM Webmasters (6-0), called the shots for the senior Webmasters on Thursday evening. /rcg
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