RJ Dinolan of USJ-R and Joseph Daniel Mayol of UC scramble for the loose ball in this bit of Cesafi men’s basketball action at the Cebu Coliseum.
(CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Down one after wasting away a nine-point lead in the final period, Dinolan scored on a transition lay-up to put USJ-R up, 68-67, with 40 seconds remaining.
The Mythical Five forward then stole the ball on UC’s offensive and found a streaking Gastador who rose up high, got fouled and still made a basket. He swished the bonus free throw to give the Jaguars a 71-67 lead and sealed the victory with 8.3 ticks left.
Dinolan finished with a near double-double of 20 points and nine rebounds while Gastador added 11, all in the second half.
The win nudged USJ-R into the second spot with its seventh win in 10 games, half-a -game ahead of the University of the Visayas (UV), which owns a 6-3 mark.
The Webmasters fell to 3-7 (win-loss) in spite of the huge 28-point night of spitfire guard Justine Dacalos.
In high school action, the UV Baby Lancers secured the second seed and the outright semifinal spot that came with it with a resounding 78-60 win over the USJ-R Baby Jaguars.
UV finished the elimination round with a 7-2 card and, along with the three-time defending champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles, will now await the winners of the quarterfinal round.
Three teams finished with identical 6-3 cards. However, the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) secured the third spot by virtue of their wins over both UC and Don Bosco. UC grabbed the fourth seed with their win over Don Bosco. Still, CEC, UC and Don Bosco will play in the quarterfinals armed with a twice-to-beat advantage over their respective opponents.
With star forward Jancork Cabahug in sick bay due to a sprained ankle, stocky guard Bern Laurente stepped up to carry the scoring cudgels as he piled up 19 points and four rebounds.
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