Wildcats upset Jaguars, forge KO duel

CEBU, Philippines - The sixth-ranked Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) Wildcats stayed alive after eking out a 91-85 shocker in overtime against the third seed University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars in their game last night that was nearly marred by a fistfight in the 9th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Wildcats became the second lower-ranked squad to pull an upset after the Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) Greywolves brought top qualifier University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters back to earth via a 77-74 stunner.

Trailing most of the way in regulation period, the Wildcats preyed on the spate of errors by the Jaguars in the closing seconds of the extra period just a few moments after Edwin Bibera knocked in two free throws to tie the count for the last time at 85-all with 1:51 left to play.

In the ensuing play, crafty guard Karen Rick de la Cerna fished a foul in the three-point territory from Abulaiz Suliman and then calmly sank his freebies to give the Wildcats an 88-85 lead with 1:08 remaining.

Later, Chester Curso, who scored 12 points in the fourth period and overtime, split his charities and then Marko Elmaga scored a basket to put the Wildcats safely ahead, 91-85, with only 24 ticks left in the game clock.

Prior to that, a near fight ensued at the final 1:26 mark when Wildcat Heroche Molero was dropped hard to the floor by the bulky Kurt Amores of the Jaguars, who was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul for that act. Molero, who finished with 22 points, is a doubtful starter for the playoff tomorrow.

Curso, who led the Wildcats with 23 points, sent the game into overtime at 79-all with a courageous drive to the hoop with a second remaining. He then scored the first four points in overtime that earned them an 83-81 edge.  

The Jaguars were paced by Bibera and Jerome Villaver with 29 points combined. It was a sorry for the Jaguars as they led by as much as 12 points, 48-36, in the third period.

The scores

CIT (91) - Curso 23, Molero 22, Dela Cerna 12, Elmaga 10, Reyes 9, Cañete 5, Sagmon 5, Ipang 4, Taboada 1

USJ-R (85) - Bibera 15, Villaver 14, Amores 11, Suliman 10, Pateño 8, Lapiz 7, Senining 5, Duran 5, Dela Peña 4, De la Rama 3, Nudalo 2 Halftime: 32-37. - GGM (THE FREEMAN)