UP-Cebu Fighting Maroons players and coaching staff. CDN Digital photo | Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The University of the Philippines (UP)-Cebu Fighting Maroons staged a huge upset by escaping the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers, 77-76, in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at the Cebu Coliseum.
The win was UP-Cebu’s second in nine games, putting the Fighting Maroons at ninth spot in the team standings.
USPF, meanwhile, tasted just its second loss in six games for fourth place in the current Cesafi standings.
UP-Cebu big man Aaron Kress unloaded a game-high 16 points, 13 of which he scored in the crucial second half.
Philip Brandon Sainz also stepped up big time for the Fighting Maroons after tallying 13 points, while Niño Sarol added 12, and JZ Dizon chipped in 11 markers.
Alje Mendez and Winston Bingil had 12 points each for USPF, while Peter John Peteros had 10 points in a losing effort.
The Fighting Maroons, one of the four newcomers of Cesafi, shocked the Panthers from the get-go, leading by as many as 11 points, 34-23, in the second period.
However, the Panthers cut the lead to a more manageable five-point deficit, 33-38, at halftime.
UP-Cebu came alive in the third period, stretching its lead back to double digits, 53-42.
Still, the Panthers clawed back to bring them to within three points, 56-59, heading into the final canto.
Both teams fought tooth-and-nail in the final period, resulting to three deadlocks and two lead changes.
The game was tied at 68-all with 6:30 remaining in the game when USPF allowed UP-Cebu to complete a run spearheaded by Dizon, Kress, and Sarol. That run put UP-Cebu up, 76-68.
USPF, known for late-game comebacks, wasn’t able to recover until the final buzzer.
Two wins, one day for Rasmo
The biggest victor was UP-Cebu’s head coach Rommel Rasmo, who won two games on Thursday.
Before UP-Cebu and USPF squared off, Rasmo’s multi-titled high school team, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC), eked out a hard-earned win against the University of Cebu (UC) Baby Webmasters, 68-62.
USPF can bounce back tomorrow, November 11, as it faces the University of San Carlos (USC) at 3:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Maroons take on USC on November 14.
/bmjo
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