UV seizes top spot in standings after lopsided win against UP Cebu

UV’s Kent Ivo Salarda fires a long-range shot in front of UP Cebu’s JD Dizon in their Cesafi Season 24 game. | Photo from Sugbuanong Kodaker

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers continued their dominance in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Season 24 Men’s Basketball Tournament, cruising to a resounding 91-59 victory against the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu Fighting Maroons on Sunday night, October 27, at the Cebu Coliseum.

With this win, the Green Lancers maintained their undefeated record and claimed the top spot in the standings momentarily.

As expected, the Green Lancers set the tone early, quickly pulling ahead and establishing a lead that grew to as many as 36 points, 86-50, effectively sealing their sixth consecutive victory.

READ: CESAFI: UV logs fourth win, ties UC for top spot in standings

The loss dealt UP Cebu their fourth defeat in five games, continuing a challenging season for the Fighting Maroons.

Offensive onslaught

Leading the charge for UV was reigning Finals MVP Kent Ivo Salarda, who posted a double-double with a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds.

READ: CESAFI: UV Baby Lancers edge UCLM in thrilling duel

Salarda’s efforts were complemented by Raul Gentallan and AJ Sacayan, each contributing 15 points to UV’s balanced offensive onslaught.

For UP Cebu, JD Dizon was the lone player to reach double figures, scoring 15 points in a valiant but ultimately insufficient effort.

READ: Cesafi 24: UV Green Lancers escape USJ-R Jaguars

Despite key additions to their roster this season—including Matt Flores, Kent Joshua Cabanlit, and Andrew Padilla—the Fighting Maroons struggled to find their winning ways.

Flores finished with only six points, while Cabanlit managed just two points on 1-of-4 shooting, a stark contrast from his usual double-digit performances.

Under the guidance of head coach Gary Cortes, UV dominated in all aspects of their CESAFI game. The Green Lancers outperformed UP Cebu in the paint (36-26), on second-chance points (22-6), points off turnovers (25-16), and bench scoring (55-29), underscoring their depth and versatility.

CESAFI High School Division

In the CESAFI high school division, the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu Mandaue (UCLM) Webmasters eked out a hard-fought 87-81 victory against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers.

The win elevated UCLM to a 3-5 record, while USPF now sits at 3-3.

UCLM’s Dan Mitchell Ferraren led all scorers with 27 points, supported by Wade Adam Luche, who added 25 points and nine rebounds.

Prince Mallorca also turned in a strong performance with a double-double, recording 10 points and 11 rebounds.

USPF’s Fritz Gonzales gave an impressive showing with 30 points in a valiant, albeit losing, effort.