Jaguars, Webmasters shackle foes in CESAFI hoopla

CEBU, Philippines - The struggling University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars made five triples in the fourth period to pull off a big win over the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers, 80-66, while the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters survived a nightmarish game against the Cebu Institute of Technology University (CITU) Wildcats before walking away with an 83-75 victory in last Monday’s collegiate double-header of the 10th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) season at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games tomorrow (Cebu Coliseum)

3 pm USPF vs. UC (jrs.)

4:30 pm CIT-U vs.

USJR (jrs.)

6 pm SHS-Ateneo vs.

UV (jrs.)

In the secondary matches, the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles escaped with an 85-82 victory over the USC Baby Warriors, while the vastly-improved CEC Dragons scored a masterful 72-58 win over the USJ-R Baby Jaguars.

The Wildcats surprised the Webmasters with their razzle-dazzle moves, with Chester Curso firing from all angles, while the rest of his teammates have to create shots from outside to elude the towering UC slotman Junemar Fajardo.

Curso confused the 6-foot-9 Fajardo with his flashy moves and gritty reverse lay-ups as he scored 22 points in the first half, 16 in the second quarter that helped the Wildcats take a 39-34 lead at the turn.

When Curso was grounded by the Webmasters’ defense, the game looked bleak for the Wildcats and when Fajardo started to work from under, the outcome was almost predictable but not until the final five minutes when UC enjoyed its largest lead, 75-58. The Wildcats answered eight straight points and the rest was history.

Fajardo had 19 points while Edward Pao, Robinson Mohammad and Gerald Ampoon all scored in double figures for UC, who finished as second placer in the elimination round with a 6-1 win-loss record.

Curso scattered a game-high 33 points for the Wildcats, who lost the twice-to-beat advantage to the SWU Cobras after falling to 3-4.

The scores

First game

USJ-R (80) - Amores 14, Lapiz 13, Dela Pena 10, Suliman 9, Capillar 8, Abing 5, Bibera 4, Munez 4, Senining 3, Bucayan 3, Nudalo 2, Tabaloc 2

USPF (66) - Dajalos 21, Bardilas 12, Marano 11, Avila 7, Linao 6, Rivera 5, D. Ferraren 2, J. Ferraren 1 Halftime: 41-31

Second game

UC (83) - Fajardo 19, Pao 15, Mohammad 13, Ampoon 12, Juliane 7, Heruela 4, Bercede 3, Magallanes 2, Cabrera 2, Cueva 2

CITU (75) - Curso 33, Ipang 11, Canete 11, Dimco 9, Dela Cerna 9, Taboada 1, Sanchez 1 Halftime: 34-39 (FREEMAN)