CIT, USJ-R start final battle for secondary crown

CEBU, Philippines - New faces will step into the hardcourt today as the third-seed Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) Wildkittens go up against the fourth-ranked University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars in Game 1 of the best-of-five finals series for the secondary crown of the 9th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today

(Cebu Coliseum)

For third

4:30 pm UC vs. UV

Finals

6 pm CIT vs. USJ-R

 Last year’s champion University of Cebu (UC) Junior Webmasters and the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers have been relegated into playing for third place.

For the first time in CESAFI history, the Wildkittens advanced into the championship round after escaping with a 76-73 victory over the Baby Lancers.

The Baby Jaguars, on the other hand, grabbed the first finals berth by sweeping the Junior Webmasters in their best-of-three semifinals.

Basing on their elimination round record, the CIT-USJ-R match-up could be as exciting as in the collegiate division because they finished third and fourth seed, respectively.

The stars to watch out for in the Wildkittens camp are Mark Jayven Tallo and sensational rookie Franklyn Batiquin. On the Baby Jaguars side of things, the focus will be on power forward Clint Muñez and rookie guard Arlister Escatron.

The title showdown in the collegiate level will feature the highly-anticipated face off by the two goliaths in 6-foot-11 Gregory Slaughter of UV and the 6-foot-9 June Mar Fajardo of UC. They are both in hot pursuit for glory and supremacy as they gird up for the most momentous duel the league has to offer in recent years.

The University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters are back to the finals for the first time since in four years, but Fajardo was not yet around during that time. For Slaughter, this will be his third finals appearance for the eight-time champion UV Lancers.

 The Webmasters, who emerged as the elimination round topnotcher, earned the right to challenge UV after kicking out the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors last Sunday, 87-78.

The scores

UC (87) - Rogado 18, Luceño 18, Fajardo 16, Abella 15, Quilantang 6, Mohamad 6 Gomez 5, Cayanong 4

USC (78) - Padillo 17, Cortes 14, Cantonao 13, Hermosa 10, Gallarde 9, Padayao 7, Bautista 6, Otida 2

Halftime: 40-37 (GGM)   (BANATNEWS)