Ian Jefferson Tagapan of USC and Juan Miguel Gastador of USJ-R collide in mid-air during their Cesafi seniors game at the Cebu Coliseum yesterday. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)
The University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors gained some needed momentum heading to their much-anticipated match with the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers as they fought off a spirited comeback attempt by the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) to come out on top, 90-75, in the 15th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
In what was a heated game that saw two players get ejected on top of several unsportsmanlike and technical fouls, the Warriors were the more composed team as they pulled away at the start of the final canto to thwart the Jaguars and log their fourth win in a row.
More importantly, USC tied the idle Green Lancers at the top of the standings heading to their game tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
Cameroonian Shooster Olago played like a man among boys as he dominated USJ-R’s undersized frontline and lit them up for 24 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals, all while battling foul trouble.
The difference-maker though, was unheralded power forward Charles Pepito, who also had a double-double of his own with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Last year’s Mythical Five guard Victor Rabat came alive and scored 16 while his backcourt mate Ian Tagapan celebrated the birth of his first child with a dozen markers.
After sluggish starts in their last two games, the Warriors came out firing and raced off to a 12-2 behind buckets by Olago, Pepito and Tagapan. They continued the first-half onslaught and pushed the lead to 45-19 before it settled at 49-27 at halftime.
But the Jaguars had some fight in them and unloaded a 19-6 salvo anchored on the energized play of RJ Dinolan, Mac Labares and rookie guard, Jaybie Mantilla, whose free-throw with 4:52 left in that stretch sliced the deficit to 10, 45-55. But the intensity of that rally also cost the Jaguars dearly as a looseball scuffle led to the ejection of reserves Kent Moral and Ferdinand Risma, who were caught coming off the bench and entering the court during the melee.
In the juniors division, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles soared to their fifth straight win with a 69-44 shellacking of the USJ-R Baby Jaguars.