SWU-Phinma’s semis bid ends with 30-point loss to UV

Rey Suerte of UV gets away with a layup against the defense of SWU in a Cesafi men’s basketball game at the Cebu Coliseum.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON

THE DEFENDING champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers put an end to the semifinal aspirations of the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma in emphatic fashion, routing the Cobras by 30 points, 94-64, in the 17th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

UV’s win also pushed the University of Cebu (UC), which earlier won over the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats, 82-68, into the Final Four.

The Green Lancers remain at the top of the heap with a 9-1 (win-loss) record, followed by the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) at 8-2. The University of San Carlos (USC) is at third at 6-4 while UC rounds out the cast of semifinal contenders with a 6-5 card.

Skipper Josue Segumpan paced UV with 16 points and three assists while Jerome Napao added 12 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Rey Suerte nearly had a double-double with 10 points and eight assists and little-used big man Ubert Villaceran chipped in 10 markers.

The Cobras were actually neck-and-neck with the Green Lancers early on, trailing by just two, 18-20, after the first.

But UV surged ahead, scoring 13 unanswered points, 11 coming from Napao and Sheldon Gahi.

From there, things turned from bad to worse for the Cobras as the Green Lancers kept on pounding the rudderless SWU-Phinma defense, ending the first half with a 17-2 blast to head to the dugout with a huge 27-point lead, 53-26.

The Cobras showed some fight in the third sparked by Shaquille Imperial’s three-point shooting to bring them to within 10, 55-65.

But the Green Lancers held their ground and scored five straight, capped by Gahi’s pilfer of Imperial’s pocket and uncontested layup that put them in front, 70-55, heading to the final frame. It was cruise control for SWU-Phinma from thereon.

Imperial led SWU-Phinma with 16 points, but it was barely enough to keep the Cobras from falling to 4-7.

In the first game, Cameroonian Frederick Elombi abused his undersized defenders and finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and five blocked shots for UC. John Jabello added 11 points, two assists and two steals.