USJR Jaguar’s Richard Militante drives hard to the basket while defended by three CIT-U players in their Cesafi High School game. | Photo from Sugbuanong Kodaker
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguar Cubs secured their sixth victory in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) Season 24 High School Basketball Tournament with a 45-31 win over the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Junior Wildcats on Saturday, October 26.
With this win, the Jaguar Cubs improved their record to 6-1, momentarily sharing the top spot in the high school division standings with the University of Cebu (UC) Baby Webmasters, who also claimed victory earlier in the day by defeating the University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors.
Later, defending champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles and last season’s runners-up University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers will face off in the day’s final high school game at the Cebu Coliseum.
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Should SHS-AdC win, the standings will be pushed into a three-way tie with the USJ-R Jaguar Cubs and Baby Webmasters, setting up a competitive race as teams approach the Final Four.
Team captain Jan Vince Oringo led the way for the USJ-R Jaguar Cubs, finishing with a double-double of 15 points, 10 rebounds, and one steal, making him the only player from USJ-R to reach double figures.
Neil Narvaez and Clark Candia combined for 14 points, while Ryko Batuigas led CIT-U with 15 points in the losing effort, which drops the Junior Wildcats to a 4-3 record.
USJ-R’s bench proved vital, outscoring CIT-U’s bench 17-1, while they also held advantages in key areas: points off turnovers (16-10), points in the paint (18-10), and second-chance points (13-7).