Bingil drops 33 points as USPF outlasts USJ-R in Cesafi OT thriller

USPF Panthers players and coaching staff pose for a group photo after narrowly beating USJ-R Jaguars in overtime during their game in the Cesafi on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. | CDN Digital photo / Glendale Rosal

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers outlasted the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars in overtime, 63-55, during their game in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at the Cebu Coliseum.

USPF’s marksman Winston Bingil sent the game into overtime after canning a three-point shot with 24 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 53-all.

The Panthers finished off the Jaguars by outscoring the latter, 10-2, in the extra period, to grab a crucial win as the semifinals loom. 

USPF momentarily unseated USJ-R at the No.3 spot in the crucial college division team standings with six wins and two losses. The Jaguars moved down to the fourth place with a 6W-3L record. 

The win also boosted the USPF’s chance to make it into the final four or semifinals, but first, they needed to win their last two remaining elimination round games.

USPF will face the bottom-ranked Felipe R. Verallo Foundation College (FRVFC) Blue Dragons (1-8) on November 21. This will be followed by a tough match-up against the unbeaten men’s division defending champions, the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers (7-0), on November 26 which is the last day of the eliminations.

Meanwhile, USJ-R takes on the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats also on November 26 with hopes of salvaging a win to make it into the semifinals. 

Numerous lead changes

During their game on Saturday, USPF needed to endure numerous lead changes and deadlocks until they were able to grab a four-point lead, 30-26 heading into halftime. 

They stretched that lead to 12 points, 48-36, anchoring on Bingil’s hot shooting.

However, the Jaguars slowly chipped the lead in the final canto as USPF got into penalty early. 

Elmer Echavez cut the lead to one, 49-50, after making both his freethrows. 

He followed it up with a layup that placed USJ-R ahead, 51-50, for the first time in the game. 

Karl Ventura made it a three-point lead, 53-50, with his jumper with 2:03 left in regulation. 

Crucial shots

Both teams went on to miss crucial shots until the last 30 seconds when USPF made a crucial defensive stop that earned them a ball possession. 

USPF’s veteran guard Neon Chavez didn’t hesitate to drive to the basket and dropped a pass to Jasper Lumingkit who missed his layup.

Luckily, Chavez grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball to the wide open Bingil who nailed a three from the right wing to tie the game at 53-all.

USJ-R had the last ball possession that would’ve won them the game, but Echavez screwed his game-winning layup that forced the game into overtime. 

Bingil poured everything on the floor with his 33-point outing, including six three-point shots.  

Chavez finished with nine points, while Andre Cuizon and Peter John Peteros combined for 14 points for USPF.

Christian Sollano had 14 points, while Aeron Tabio added 10 points for USJ-R.

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