Warriors claw back from 18-down to beat CIT-U; UC takes down juniors powerhouse UV

USC STILL PERFECT

Froilan Mangubat of UC gets whacked at the nape by Jancork Cabahug of UV in yesterday’s Cesafi juniors game at the Cebu coliseum. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)

The University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors dug down deep and came back from an 18-point deficit to stun the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats, 83-75, in the 15th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

The two Ians on the team – Tagapan and Ortega – stepped up for last year’s runners-up as the former had 29 points and nine rebounds and the latter added 13, all in the final frame, five of which came in the last two minutes to seal the Warriors’ third win in as many games while sending the Wildcats to their fourth loss in five tries.

The Warriors, though, had to bleed for this victory as they played sluggish basketball at the onset and at one point, stared at a 22-40 deficit. A 13-2 run at the start of the third set the tone for USC as it eventually pulled them to within 11, 48-59, heading to the final frame.

But the Wildcats kept  clawing back, keeping the lead at 10, after a transition bucket by Steven Bucao and a lay-up by Karl Lucena off a gorgeous pick and roll play.

But USC, already battle-hardened from last year’s finals loss, persevered and grabbed the lead, 69-66, after a floater by Tagapan and free throws from Olago and Tagapan  with 3:07 remaining.

An under-goal stab by CIT-U forward Mark Kong and a triple by USC guard Victor Rabat gave the Warriors a 72-68 lead but the Wildcats kept on fighting and trimmed the deficit to a deuce after a lay-in by Joshua dela Cerna, under two minutes to go.

The Warriors got their second wind in the form of Ortega, who after a free throw by Olago, stole the ball and went all the way in for a fastbreak lay-up and then canned a corner triple for a 78-70 USC lead with 41.4 seconds to go.

Dela Cerna scored 27 points while Bucao chipped in 16 for CIT-U.

UC SHOCKS UV
The juniors division saw a shocker as the University of Cebu (UC) Baby Webmasters upset last year’s runners-up, the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers, 70-64.

Johnbryl Cuyos swung the upset axe the hardest as he scored 19 points to lead UC to its third win against two losses. Froilan Mangubat had 18 while Luigi Gabisan had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Jancork Cabahug did all he could for UV with 27 points and 19 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to stop the team from falling to its third loss in five outings.