Kevin Rey Villafranca of USJ-R splits the CIT-U defense in yesterday’s Cesafi seniors game at the Cebu Coliseum. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)
After seeing their lone, hard-earned victory get forfeited, a visibly-determined University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars vented their ire on the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) and blew out the Wildcats, 102-71, in the 15th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Jaguars had their 85-68 win over the University of Cebu on opening day forfeited after it was found out that they had not submitted their electrocardiogram results—a requirement this season—on time. As a result, they dipped to the bottom of the standings with a 0-2 win-loss record.
They ventured to change that last night as they took control of what was a competitive game in the third period, where they unleashed a blistering 20-3 run that decisively turned the tide in their favor and get them their first win of the season.
The Jaguars were only up by 10, 55-45, at the halfway point of the third when they suddenly raised their game up a notch behind the relentless play of Ralph Dinolan, who crashed the board for several putbacks.
Also contributing for USJ-R were last year’s Mythical Five member Kevin Villafranca and rookie guard Ricky Peromingan, who dropped in a rare four-point play that helped the Jaguars erect a 75-51 lead heading to the final frame.
Villafranca finished the game with a huge double-double of 23 points and 16 rebounds laced with four steals while the much-improved Dinolan chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds.
Macmac Labares also flaunted his all-around game with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
CIT-U fell to its third straight defeat in spite of the 25 points of Joshua dela Cerna.
Allan Dimco, a key cog in the Wildcats’ attack, was a bust for the second game in a row as he made just 11 markers.
JUNIORS DIVISION
CIT-U, though, made up for its elders’ setback by winning over the beleaguered Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons, 67-62 in the juniors division.
Jasper Berezo led the way for the Wildkittens with 27 points. Both CIT-U and CEC now hold similar records of 1-2.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
