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Philippines, 09 Feb 2026 |
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USJ-R JAGUARS OUST LAST YEAR?S CESAFI CHAMPIONS SWU COBRAS WHILE USC WARRIORS STUN UV LANCERS IN OVERTIME By Michael Kenji Izumi PhilBoxing.com Tue, 06 Oct 2015 CEBU CITY -- The 2nd day of the final four in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball tournament was marked by the ouster of defending champions South Western University Cobras while the University of San Carlos Warriors survived a University of Visayas Green Lancers comeback to fashion an overtime win in what was deemed as one of the most exciting games so far this season. The USJ-R Jaguars had cut the SWU Cobras championship's reign to 1 year and extended their chances of making it into the finals as they beat them during the first game, 81-75; while the USC Warriors had survived the UV Green Lancers' comeback and won in overtime in the 2nd game, 79-75 at the Cebu Coliseum. The Jaguars took advantage of the depleted SWU Cobras lineup as they played despite Fil-Samoan rookie Jesse "Juju" Bautista's return from an ankle injury but missed the services of veteran Jan Michael Auditor as he served a one-game suspension for punching USC's Ian Ortega. In their last game. The Cobras refused to back down as they put on a shooting display led by Mark Jayven Tallo and Anton Pardo with a combined 6 three pointers in the 1st half and a 37-33 lead at the break. The Jaguars meanwhile, kept the game close with the triumvirate of Ralph Dinolan, Kevin Villafranca and Miguel Gastador helping them to a 59-58 in the 3rd.. From then on it was a see-saw battle as USJ-R and SWU traded baskets with the Jaguars posting a narrow 70-68 lead before the .Jaguars' Jaybie Mantilla and Dinolan extended the lead to 6, 75-69 with 1:24 remaining. The Cobras countered with Bautista and Jovanie Luz as they cut the lead again to 2, 75-73 until Kevin Villafranca broke the Cobras' hopes as he converted a 3-point play with 21.2 seconds remaining. His consistent play enabled the lanky Villafranca who impressed Viva Sports TV panelists Rico Navarro and Sandi Grumo to grab the ?Best Player of the Game? honors with 22 points 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. Dinolan and Gastador had a combined 41 points in their win while . Bautista led SWU with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists, with Tallo and Luz scored 19 and 14 points, respectively. In the 2nd game, the Warriors and the Green Lancers kept it close all the way throughout the 1st half until the bench duo of Rey Suerte and Jun Kent Manzo along with import Steve Akomo energized UV and gave them a 52-45 3rd quarter lead. In the 4th period, USC came back to life led by Charles Pepito and import Shooster Olago and grabbed a 68-61 lead with over 2 minutes remaining until the Green Lancers staged a 9-2 run led by Akomo and capped by a floater by Manzo which tied the ballgame at 70-all with 17.9 seconds remaining. Both teams had their chances to win the game but they couldn't deliver, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, both teams struggled in the first minutes of overtime until a jumper by Tagapan gave the Warriors a two-point lead, 72-70 with a little over 3 minutes remaining. The game went back and forth again and the game was tied once more when Akomo nailed a juimper with 46.3 remaining. But the Warriors leaned again on Olago and Pepito as they used a devastating 5-1 run to grab the lead which they never relinquished from that moment on as they closed out their 2nd straight finals appearance, their 4th in the last 9 seasons. Pepito was named the ?Best Player of the Game? with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 3 steals, along with 11 of 15 from the field. Olago had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Tagapan scored 14 markers. Manzo led UV with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Akomo and Suerte scored 17 and 13 points respectively as they would try to force a win over SWU on Saturday. Box scores: 1st Game: USJ-R (81) -- Dinolan 22, Villafranca 22, Gastador 19, Mantilla 9, Navarra 3, Senining 2, Bayhonan 2, Labares 2, Risma 0. SWU (75) -- Tallo 19, Bautista 19, Luz 13, Pardo 13, Racho 6, Holper 5, Gonzaga 0, Clam 0. Quarter Scores: 18-18; 33-37; 59-58; 81-75. 2nd Game: USC 79 - Pepito 23, Olago 19, Tagapan 14, Rabat 6, Maconocido 5, Ortega 4, McAloney 4, Laguyo 2, Suarez 2, Magat 0, Lim 0. UV 75 - Manzo 20, Akomo 17, Suerte 14, Codilla 7, Arong 6, Santillan 5, Aguirre 4, Caba?ero 2, Napao 1, Segumpan 0. Quarterscores: 16-16; 32-29; 45-52; 70-70; 79-75 OT. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Michael Kenji Izumi.  |
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