OUCH!! Arvie Cabanero of the University of the Visayas Green Lancers (right) hits Ralph Jude Dinolan of the University of San Jose-Recoletos as they battle for ball possession during their CESAFI semifinal match last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers and the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors surged ahead in the race for berths in the finals as they subdued their respective opponents in a pair of rugged games at the start of the round-robin semifinals of the 15th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Green Lancers, 10-time winners of this tournament, survived a hearty challenge from the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, 87-77, in a match marred by a serious injury to the latter’s wingman, Tricky Peromingan.
Peromingan, the former Far Eastern University Baby Tamaraw, suffered a bad fall as his torso landed square on the knee of a UV defender who was attempting to block the his lay-up attempt. Peromingan lay motionless on the floor for several minutes and was attended to by the league’s medical team led by Dr. Rhoel Dejano. He was later placed on a stretcher and raced off to a hospital after being initially diagnosed with a possible broken rib.
The Warriors, on the other hand, overwhelmed a woefully undermanned Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras squad, 85-66, which saw just four healthy bodies remaining at game’s end. With starting power forward Juju Bautista already out from a sprained ankle, Kier Clam and Toto Gonzaga both fouled out, veteran forward Janjan Auditor got ejected for a cheap shot on USC’s Ian Ortega while John Lloyd Luz ended up just sitting on the sidelines in the dying seconds after suffering from cramps.
USC’s bruisers, meanwhile, ran roughshod over SWU’s sorry excuse for a frontline as Shooster Olago tallied 23 points and 14 rebounds while Charles Pepito ended up with 14 markers, 17 boards and three steals. Ian Ortega pumped in 19 points, highlighted by six triples, three of which came during a sizzling 24-7 run that turned a 31-27 lead into a 55-24 bulge in the third.
The top two teams at the end of the semis will advance to the best-of-five title series which starts on Tuesday.
In the first game, UV got off to a sizzling 19-4 start before USJ-R got their bearings and pulled to within two, 29-31. The Green Lancers continued to be a step ahead of the Jaguars in the next two periods but USJ-R last threatened at 74-82, after a pull-up jumper by Miguel Gastador, 2:35 left in the game. However, on the very next play, UV two-guard Franz Arong canned a wide-open triple from the left wing that pushed the lead back to twin-digits, 85-74, and sealed the victory for the Lancers.
Former Batang Gilas wingman Leonard Santillan scored 23, including 10 straight in the second, to lead UV. Arong finished with 18 while Steve Akomo had 12 points and 12 rebounds.