Magis Eagles secure semifinals slot, hope to earn twice-to-beat advantage
SHS-AdC Magis Eagles players and coaching staff pose for a group photo after winning against CIT-U in the Cesafi on Saturday, November 25. | CDN Digital photo / Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Defending champions, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, secured their spot in semifinals round of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) Season 23 high school basketball tournament after demolishing the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildkittens, 86-57, on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at the Cebu Coliseum.
The win capped off the Magis Eagles’ elimination round campaign with eight wins and two defeats to put them momentarily at the No. 3 spot.
They can earn a twice-to-beat advantage depending on the outcome of tomorrow’s game between league-leader, the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu Mandaue (UCLM) Webmasters (8-1), and the No. 2 team, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars (8-1).
If UCLM wins, the Magis Eagles will remain at the No. 3 spot in the Cesafi since the latter was defeated by USJ-R in their opening game. If USJ-R wins, the Magis Eagles will earn the No. 2 spot, while UCLM drops to the No. 3 spot. It’s because SHS-AdC defeated UCLM in the elimination round.
During their game on Saturday, the Magis Eagles were leading by double digits from the get-go despite an off night from their team captain and top scorer Jared Bahay.
They finished the first half with a 21-point cushion, 48-27.
The Magis Eagles weren’t satisfied with their huge lead and decided to further stretch this to 25, 54-29, and head into the final canto with a 28-point cushion, 66-38.
They went on to build their biggest lead of 35 points, 86-51, in the end game and maintained it all the way to the final sound of the buzzer.
Three of the Magis Eagles bigmen led the team in scoring. Lars Fjellvang topscored SHS-AdC with 16 points, while Jelo Mar Rota added 12 points and Rezald Dacalos had nine markers.
Bahay only scored two points in the final period.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel Yurag registered a game-high 23 points for CIT-U, while Sam Kyle Aballe had 10 points as their team finished their season with a 2-7 slate.
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