The victorious University of the Visayas Baby Lancers flash the four-peat sign after crushing the USC Baby Warriors in the championship match of the 2016 CloudFone Batang PBA Cebu leg. With them is CloudFone Regional Sales Manager Ronald Extavilla (8th from left, standing). (Contributed)
The University of the Visayas Baby Lancers completed a rare “four-peat” as they authored a, 78-60 shellacking of the University of San Carlos Baby Warriors yesterday morning in the finals of the 2016 CloudFone Batang PBA Cebu leg at the Cebu City Sports Institute.
The game’s outcome was hardly in doubt as UV’s superiority was evident from the get-go. After getting a taste of the national crown in 2014, the Baby Lancers showcased their hunger for more and zoomed off to a 16-3 in the first period and never looked back.
Royce Alforque was at the tip of the UV spear that pierced USC’s defense time and time again as he scored 27 points while undersized forward Froiland Maglasang ably backed him up with 22 markers.
UV led 49-33 at halftime and extended it to 19, mere moments into the second half after a basket by Alforque and a three-point play by Osias Padilla.
USC tried their hardest to find a chink in UV’s armor and got to within 15, 54-69, at the halfway point of the final canto after a bucket from big man Steven Mendoza.
However, UV just had too much skill and too much firepower as they pushed right back with timely answers from Padilla, Maglasang and Samuel
Melicor that raised their lead back to 22, 78-56, with less than two minutes remaining in the one-sided match.
Reinhard Jumamoy had 13 to pace the Baby Warriors while Clint Octaviano pitched in 12.
Next up for UV will be the regional finals which will be held here in Cebu City next weekend. The winner of that tournament will represent the region in the national finals in Manila.