Worthy/UV draws first blood

CEBU, Philippines -  Tristan Albina fired 16 points and Rey Suerte had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as Worthy/University of the Visayas Green Lancers crushed Mighty Sports/University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars, 80-67, to move one win away from clinching the championship of the 8th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Partner's Cup last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Jerome Napao and Michael Macion chipped in 22 points combined, while Cameroonian import Bassieru Sackor also made his presence with 18 rebounds for the Lancers, who was dominant from the start and never looked back after racing to a 23-9 start.

The Lancers enjoyed their biggest lead at 19 points, 39-20, in 1:49 of the second period and the Jaguars couldn't get any closer than nine points, 67-76, when the outcome was already decided with only 32 seconds left to play.

The Lancers could practically wrap up the with another victory in Game 2 scheduled at 5:15 p.m. this Saturday.

In the knockout battle for third place, versatile playmaker Mark Jayven Tallo hit a crucial 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the game to lift Phinma/Southwestern University Cobras to a 62-59 thriller over Highlands Corned Beef/University of Cebu Webmasters.

Tallo finished with 13 points while William Polican topscored with 18 points,including six straight during an 8-0 spurt that vaulted the Cobras to an eight-point advantage after a 39-39 deadlock.

With Bernie Bregondo, Mark Racho and Rolly Bravo hitting their targets, the Cobras stretched their lead to 56-45, but the Webmasters countered with a searing 14-3 run to tie the count at 53-all with only seconds left to play.

However, that only set up the stage for Tallo's endgame heroics, with the back-to-back CESAFI MVP drilling in a booming trey from the left wing that broke the backs of the Webmasters. (FREEMAN)