Panthers shock Warriors

CEBU, Philippines - The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers scored what is by far the biggest upset in the 11th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season after they upended the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras, 62-59, on Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today (Cebu Coliseum)

5:15 pm DBTC vs. SHS-AdC (jrs.)

6:45 pm USC vs. UV (srs.)

The Panthers, thus, joined defending champion University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters and University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers on top of the leaderboard with clean 2-0 slates.

The ghost of that two-point loss to the USC Warriors still haunted the Cobras with another heart-breaker that could be traced from a missed lay-up by Bonifacio Guillena Jr. that could possibly forged a five-minute extension.

Employing a smart defensive strategy, the Panthers opened up a 54-48 lead in the final 7:26 of the contest, but the Cobras retaliated with an 8-0 run to seize the upperhand, 56-54, with still 3:28 left to play.

A triple by Guillena from the left wing gave the Cobras a 59-54 edge but the Panthers patiently waited for a good timing to make a last ditch rally until Linao, a potential defender than a scorer, made it 60-59 for the Panthers and then James Ferraren split his charities to pad their lead to two.

The Cobras had several chances to wrap up the match, but just like in their opening day loss to the Carolinians, they botched crucial attempts on the way to absorbing their second straight defeat in as many starts.

Fritz Dajalos topscored for USPF with 20 points, while 6-foot-6 center Justin Aboude led the Cobras with 24 markers.

The worst is yet to come for the Cobras who will be facing an acid test against the Lancers this Saturday. They are also bracing for the arrival of the Webmasters, who might turn their ire on them to offset their futile campaign in Shenzhen, China.

In the secondary game, reigning title-holder Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons showed their killer instinct by putting their acts together in the fourth period to demolish the Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) Greywolves, 92-59.

After allowing the Greywolves to set the pace in the early goings, the Dragons grabbed the lead at halftime, 36-31, and then went on to control the entire second half.

Alfred Anecito Sedillo and Michael Lorenzo Balankig starred in a ferocious fourth quarter assault, enabling the Dragons to mount as much as 33 points lead, 90-57, with less than two minutes left in the contest.

Sedillo paced the Dragons with 26 points followed by James Neil Sumayang with 17 and Jefferson Roxas with 10 as they improved their win-loss record to 2-1.

The scores

First game

 CEC (92) - Sedillo 26, Sumayang 17, Roxas 10, Balankig 9, Huevos 6, Bauya 5, Yap 5, Villarosa 5, Pestaño 4, Zosa 3, Bracero 2

DBTC (59) -Niere 11, Pono 8, Mellijor 6, Tabaa 6, Balansang 4, Carbon 4, Geraldizo 4, Aying 3, Ruiz 3, Abelgas 3, Castro 3, Escaño 2, Aliling 2

Second game

USPF (62) - Dajalos 20, Sedurifa 17, Avila 8, Camello 8, D. Ferraren 4, J. Ferraren 3, Linao 2

SWU (59) - Aboude 25, Guillena 18, Nalos 4, Arong 4, Bregongo 3, Armecin 2, Ortuyo 2, Padilla 2. - THE FREEMAN