THE UNIVERSITY of San Carlos (USC) Warriors ended their elimination round on a victorious note as they slipped past the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, 89-82, in the Barangay Tabunok Inter-Collegiate Basketball League on Sunday night at the Tabunok Sports Complex in Talisay.
The Warriors though had to dig deep to beat the vastly-improved Webmasters and did just enough in a 20-13 third period run to erect a 67-57 cushion heading to the final canto, one that held until the final buzzer.
Left-handed bruiser William McAloney paced the men in green and gold with 23 points while wily veteran Ian Ortega added 22. Kevin Oleodo and Jules Langres added 14 and 10 markers, respectively.
The victory gave USC a 2-3 (win-loss) card at the end of the single round-robin elimination.
They will face off against the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats in the knockout semifinals on Thursday.
The unbeaten University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers will be taking on the Webmasters in the other semifinal match-up tomorrow. The winners of the semis will advance to the finals on Friday.
The scores:
USC (89) McAloney 23, Ortega 22, Oleodo 14, Langres 10, Rabat 7, Laguyo 6, Divinagracia 3, Laviste 3, Ecarma 1.
UC (82) Tagudin 19, Codilla 16, Naong 11, Delator 10, Puerto 8, Jabello 8, Bautista 6, Dacalos 4.