USJ-R IN SEMIS
Games today:
Cebu Coliseum
1 p.m. – High School All Star Game
3:30 p.m. – Three-point Shootout
4:15 p.m. – Slam Dunk Competition
5 p.m. – College All Star Game
The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars snapped up the last ticket to the semifinal round in emphatic fashion as they routed the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, 73-53, in the 15th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
With their playoff lives teetering, the Jaguars asserted themselves late in the third canto and never looked back to grab the win and finish the double round-robin elimination round with an even 6-6 (win-loss) card, in the process taking the fourth seed in the semifinals, which starts this Tuesday.
UC finished the season in sixth place with a 4-8 card.
UC put up a terrific fight as it was in the thick of the fight for most of the game until USJ-R started its breakaway with a 7-0 run at the end of the third that gave it a 51-44 lead going to the last 10 minutes of action.
The USJ-R five then rode the endgame kick of RJ Dinolan, Mac Labares and Kevin Villafranca, who all contributed baskets in a sizzling 14-3 windup that gave them a 65-49 lead, with 2:40 remaining.
Dinolan, who sat out most of the match because of foul trouble, came alive and scored six during that telling stretch and finished with 12. Villafranca led the team in scoring with 18 while Labares was all over the floor with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Rookie guard Jaybie Mantilla was also a catalyst for USJ-R’s resurgence with 10 points, six boards and three assists.
In the second game of the double-header, the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers repeated over the reigning titleholder Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras, 75-60, to earn the top spot in the semifinals. Down by 10 in the third, the Green Lancers dug their heels in on defense, while leaning on the offensive explosion of shifty guard Jun Manzo who scored 16 of his 19 points in that stretch to help his team finish the round with a 10-2 card.
Though UV and USC are tied at the top, the former took the top spot by virtue of their humongous 74-43 win over the latter last weekend.
UV will open the single round-robin semis with a match against USJ-R while the second seed University of San Carlos will tangle with SWU. The top two teams at the end of the round will advance to the best-of-five title series.
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