Coaches of UV, USC to make key adjustments heading into Game 2 of Cesafi men’s finals
Game Tuesday:
Cebu Coliseum
6 p.m. – UV vs USC
Steve Akomo of UV and Shooster Olago of USC battle for a rebound in Game 1 of the Cesafi men’s finals.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers will be looking to make a significant defensive adjustment and hoping for a little stroke of luck, as they seek to even up the best-of-five finals series in the 15th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament against the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors today (Tuesday) at the Cebu Coliseum.
With Cameroonian reinforcement Steve Akomo forced to ride the pine after picking up his fourth foul with 6:25 left in the third, USC’s Shooster Olago suddenly broke free and led the Warriors’ attack on both ends of the floor all the way to a 76-70 win in Game One.
Afterwards, UV head coach Gary Cortes bared a vital defensive adjustment that once worked for them in an earlier match against these very same Warriors.
“We have to let Steve (Akomo) be the last line of defense,” shared Cortes, putting the onus now on his other big men Alwyn Aguirre and Arvie Cabanero to try and slow down the high-scoring Olago, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds in USC’s series-opening victory.
The strategy once worked wonders for UV in their second-round match against USC, a 74-43 blowout that saw Olago get flustered by the fluid Green Lancers defense and finish with just 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field.
More important is the health of point guard Alfred Codilla, who finished scoreless in Game 1 after being hampered by a fever and former Batang Gilas Leonard Santillan, who did not suit up after rolling his ankle during a defensive drill in practice on Friday.
On the other side of the fence, USC’s chief tactician, Britt Reroma, is happy to gain the momentum in this series but isn’t about to rest on their laurels heading to the pivotal Game Two.
In particular, Reroma hinted at getting his guys more involved in the offense to help Olago out.
“Shooster (Olago) will always be there. So we need to see to it that more of our reliable guys step up like (Ian) Tagapan, (Victor) Rabat and even Kiefer Lim,” shared Reroma.
The former champion head coach of the San Beda Red Cubs also made mention of the need to contain UV’s wily guard, Jun Kent Manzo, who scored at will against any and all defenders placed on him, including Olago, who he put on skates with a gorgeous in-and-out dribble in the lane before going all the way in for a scoop lay-up. He finished with 21 points before sitting out late in the game because of leg cramps.
“We need to find a way to contain Jun Manzo. He’s a really good scorer,” added Reroma.
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