USC, UV in SBP finals

CEBU, Philippines- The University of San Carlos earned a third straight trip to the finals for a shot at a three-peat championship of the SBP division at the BEST SBP Passerelle Tournament sponsored by Milo. USC ousted University of San Jose-Recoletos, 63-32, and will face the University of the Visayas, which stopped Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, 41-37, in the other semifinal match-up at the SHS-AdC Mango Campus gym.

USC, which has won all its games by an average margin of 50 points, started out slowly, building a 16-8 lead after the first quarter before jumpstarting its game and establishing a 33-14 lead at halftime.

It was cruise control from there as they dominated the third period at 41-22. Brandon Largo led USC with ten points while Vince Razo added nine. Selwyn Pepito led USJ-R with 14.

In the other semis duel, UV controlled the tempo of the game, only to lose the lead in the fourth quarter before going to ZJ Dizon to seal the close win.

After enjoying a 23-15 halftime lead, UV stretched the lead to 31-21 at the end of the third period. SHS-AdC buckled down and rallied, taking the lead at 37-36 with over a minute left in the game.

Dizon then stepped up to drain his second triple of the game to make it 39-37 for UV with a minute left. The UV defense then put the cuffs on the Magis Eagles before icing the win. Dizon led UV with 10 points. Maynard Uy and Chico Chan had 12 and 10 points, respectively, for SHS-AdC. (FREEMAN)