USC hands USPF first loss

CEBU, Philippines - The University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors hammered out an 87-78 victory over the previously undefeated University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers to improve their win-loss record to 3-2 in the 11th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament the other night at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Warriors let the Panthers watched them doing a virtual cage clinic in the third period where they ripped the game apart with a mind-boggling 29-point lead, 54-25.

On the part of the Panthers, their game was totally different and they never showed any semblance of sharpness the way they tamed the Jaguars and the Cobras w- 73-63 and 62-59, respectively.

The early disqualification of back-up scorer Joseph Sedurifa with still 1:58 to go in the third period has crippled the Panthers in the last quarter although they managed to rally in the final two minutes when they were allowed by the Warriors to score garbage points.

Michael June Cantonao led the Warriors with 19 points, even as Joven Cid Cortes and Sam Hermosa added 13 and 12 points, respectivley.

Fritz Dajalos scored 20 points and James Ferraren added 19 markers for the Panthers, who saw their two-game winning streak come to a sudden red stop.

Meanwhile, the Junemar Fajardo-led University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters hope to keep their unbeaten record intact when they test the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras in a highly-anticipated showdown of strong title contenders.

Fresh from a humbling yet learning experience against hardcourt giants from other Asian countries during the 26th Universiade in Shenzhen, China, the 2-0 Webmasters hope to extend their run when they take on the unpredictable Cobras.

Mauled by the Russians, whipped by the Lithuanians and Ukrainians and lectured by New Zealanders and the Japanese, the Webmasters returned home empty-handed last Saturday but without any regret. This will be another test of character for Fajardo, the reigning MVP, when he is matched up by a center of his size in Justin Aboude. 

During the 5th CESAFI Partners' Cup last April, Fajardo had a hard time defending the skinny 6-foot-9 Nigerian Alinko Mbah of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons and they were easily beaten by a mile.

Even the season opener last August 7 was a scary one for the Webmasters as they needed an overtime to pull off a 95-87 win against the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars.

   The scores

USC (87) - Cantonao 19, Cortes 13, Hermosa 12, Otida 9, Panerio 7, Duran 6, Padillo 5, Magat 5, Santos 4, Bautista 3, Codilla 2, Adlawan 2

USPF (78) - Dajalos 20, J. Ferraren 19, E. Ferraren 16, Linao 9, Sedurifa 8, Avila 8 (FREEMAN)