Warriors vanquish Jaguars

CEBU, Philippines - After barely escaping defeat against the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildcats, the University of San Carlos Warriors have somehow learned their lessons well.

The Warriors conjured all elements that made them a strong title contender in a methodical 90-75 win over the slumping University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars to earn a share of lead in the 15th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. men's basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Shooster Olago pumped in 14 of his 24 points spiked with 11 rebounds in a daring first-quarter breakaway that became USC's launching pad to a masterful demolition of the Jaguars.

Charles Pepito had a sparkling double-double performance of 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Victor Rabat and Ian Tagapan darted 16 and 12 markers, respectively as the Warriors joined the University of the Visayas Green Lancers atop the leaderboard in the collegiate division with identical 4-0 slates that set up the stage for a battle royale as they clash for the first time this season tomorrow.

The blitzkrieg assault launched by the Warriors  against the Jaguars was in sharp contrast to their sub-par performance versus the Wildcats last Tuesday where they trailed by as much as 18 points and struggled for most of the 40-minute skirmish before pulling the rug from under the gritty CIT-U chargers via an 83-75 decision.

The Warriors made sure it won't happen again.

It was actually USJ-R's Kevin Villafranca who broke the ice in just first six seconds of play, but the Warriors responded with a 12-0 burst to take full of the match the rest of the way.

After Ralph Dinolan broke the Jaguars' four-minute scoring drought, Olago and Ian Tagapan sparked USC's second wave of attack, 16-4, before Giovanni Laguyo made back-to-back hits to gave the Warriors a huge 32-10 advantage with only 41 seconds left in the opening session. Their lead ballooned to 26 points, 45-19, four minutes into halftime.

         The closest the Jaguars could come was at 46-57 as the Warriors regrouped quickly and grew even fiercer on the way to mount their biggest at 28 points, 82-54,at the final 6:38 mark of the contest. The final outcome wasn't reflective of the rout as the Jaguars scored garbage points in a game-closing 13-2 run within the last two minutes.

Ralph Dinolan, Jaybie Mantilla and Mark Labares combined for 54 points but to no avail as the Jaguars dropped to their fourth loss against a solitary win.

Earlier, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles whipped the USJ-R Baby Jaguars, 69-44, to firm up their grip of the juniors division lead with a perfect 5-0 record.

Jed Colonia, a member of the Batang Gilas Under-16 squad, charted 16 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and as many steals in an all-around show for the Magis Eagles, who was never threatened after enjoying a 36-21 edge at the intermission.

Patrtick Wilson Yu added 15 points as the Magis Eagles held the Baby Jaguars scoreless in the final three-minute mark of the contest for the 25-point blowout.

John Kirk Gonzaga unloaded 20 points laced with seven rebounds but his singular offensive outburst went for naught as the Baby Jaguars suffered their second loss in three starts.  (FREEMAN)