The reigning Cesafi champions, University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, overhauled a four-point deficit in the last 13 seconds to get past the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 73-72, in the Elite Eight phase of the National Collegiate Championship (NCC) yesterday at the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities Gym in Tanauan, Batangas.
Down 68-72 after two free throws by NU ace Alfred Aroga, the Warriors got the ball to perimeter sniper Ian Tagapan who calmly sank a three-pointer while getting fouled by Reggie Morido to cut the deficit to one, 71-72, with just 5.4 ticks left on the clock.
Tagapan, though, failed to cash in the four-point play as he missed the bonus free throw. However, the referees called a double-lane violation and USC got the ball back as the possession arrow was pointing their way. Cameroonian Shooster Olago then showed his Cesafi MVP-winning form by making the go-ahead jumper over Aroga with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Ian Tagapan played a huge role in helping USC beat NU and advance to the NCC semis round.
The Bulldogs then muffed their final shot as J-jay Alejandro mishandled the inbound pass and Matthew Aquino’s heave went nowhere as time expired.
Olago scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four blocks while fellow Cesafi Mythical Five member Charles Pepito flirted with a double-double with 16 points and eight boards.
The road for USC does not get any easier though, as they are set to face UAAP runner-up University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers today at 4 p.m. at the Arena in San Juan. The winner of this matchup will face Far Eastern University in the knockout semis round.
GREEN LANCERS FALL
But while USC rejoiced with their victory, the other Cebu team competing in this tournament, the University of the Visayas Green Lancers, wallowed in despair after suffering a 53-59 defeat at the hands of the Technological Institute of the Philippines Engineers.
The loss was a bitter end to what was already a trying day for the Lancers who had to wake up at 6 a.m. to make the three-hour trek to the playing venue in Batangas. To make matters worse, UV’s coaster broke down near the Tanauan tollgate forcing players, coaches and officials to alight from the vehicle and push it towards the tollgate.
Sources have also told Cebu Daily News that while UV was billeted in a hotel in San Juan, their opponents were staying inside the FAITH campus. That fact was not lost on the coaching staff of UV, namely assistant coach Van Halen Parmis.
“Grabe amo misses sa free throw. Basin sa kakapuy na jud sa byahe. Kapuy na sila gikan sa byahe then katong nahitabo pa sa bus. Basta biyahe hago jud kaayu na,” shared Parmis.
Still, UV had their chances to steal the win but Terrence Tumalip scuttled that as he canned a long triple to give TIP a 55-50 lead, 34.8 seconds to go. Alfred Codilla responded with a trey of his own to trim the deficit to two but Nino Ibanez made two from the line to augment their lead to four. Green Lancers wingman Rey Suerte then missed his three-point attempt and Tumalip sealed the victory with another deuce from the charity stripe.
Jun Manzo led UV with 19 while Codilla finished with a dozen.
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.
