UNIVERSITY OF THE VISAYAS GREEN LANCERS BEAT USJ-R JAGUARS TO MOVE INTO SECOND PLACE

CEBU CITY -- Just when the ten-time champions University of the Visayas Green Lancers needed some clutch baskets down the stretch, they turned to

their wily veteran Alfred Codilla and rode on him in the clutch as he again broke the hearts of the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars, avoiding a

last-minute collapse to escape with a 78-74 win in an exciting ballgame in the 15th season of Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc.

(CESAFI) Basketball Tournament at the Cebu Coliseum on Friday..

The Green Lancers got off to a hot start in the 1st quarter and ended the period with a 25-16 lead with Josue Segumpan leading the charge

with 9 points, all of which came from beyond the arc. But in the 2nd quarter, the Jaguars clawed back behind Ralph Jude Dinolan

and a 3-point bucket by Renzo Senining which cut the lead to 4 points, 44-40 at the end of the 1st half.

In the 3rd period, UV seemed to have regained their momentum and after the first six minutes of trading baskets and capitalizing on turnovers by USJ-R

they headed into the final quarter with a 9 point lead, 66-57.

In the 4th canto, the Jaguars came to life once again as they made one gallant stand and clawed all the way back once again, led

by Kevin Villafranca, Miguel Gastador and Dinolan to finally tie the game at 74-all with less than a minute remaining.

In the return play for UV, Jun Kent Manzo made a brilliant kick-out pass to a wide open Codilla at the right wing and he buried a heartbreaking

triple with 7.4 seconds remaining which sent the Lancers bench into pandemonium.

The Jaguars still had a chance to win the game but Mark Labares made a costly turnover as he was called for a 5-second inbound violation even as the

Green Lancers almost paid a heavy price when Ricky Dyn Peromingan overshot the basket on a three-point attempt

after he stole the ball on the inbound pass and Codilla iced the game with his free-throw which sent the Jaguars to their 5th loss of the season.

Because of his heroic efforts, Codilla was named the ?Best Player of the Game? by Viva Sports TV panelists Rico Navarro and Sandi Grumo with 10

points and 2 assists. Segumpan and Manzo led UV as they combined for 26 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Green Lancers to solo second spot

with a 6-2 record.

Dinolan scored a career high 25 points to go along with 6 rebounds, while Peromingan and Labares scored 12 and 10 points respectively,

but their efforts went to naught as they slipped further to 6th in the team standings with a 2-5 W-L record.

BOX SCORES:

UV (78) -- Segumpan 13, Manzo 13, Akomo

12, Codilla 10, Santillan 9, Caba?ero 9,

Suerte 8, Aguirre 2, Napao 2, Arong 0,

Macion 0, Mendoza 0, Balabag 0.

USJ-R (74) -- Dinolan 25, Peromingan 12,

Labares 10, Navarra 7, Villafranca 6,

Gastador 5, Mantilla 4, Senining 3,

Bayhonan 2.

Quarter Scores: 25-16; 44-40; 66-57; 78-74.