UV Lancers pierce Pirates, gain Champs League Final 8

University of Visayas used a torrid outside shooting as it whipped wildcard Lyceum Pirates, 101-80, in the Fil-Oil/Flying V National Collegiate Champions League at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Lancers proved they’re more than just a Greg Slaughter team, playing a balanced game as they gained the last slot in the Final Eight of the annual event gathering the cream of varsity teams in the country.

The 6-foot-9 Slaughter, a 19-year-old Virginia native who has been in the country for six months now, had a decent game in his first outing in Manila coming through with eight points, four rebounds, four blocks and two assists.

“I’m still working on my game to improve,” said the soft-spoken Fil-Am, whose mother Emma Fuentes is native of Cebu.

Ritchum Dennison paced the Lancers with 19 points including five of the team’s league-high 16 triples while Rino Berame added 16 on 6-of-6 shooting from the field.

“We didn’t dominate inside that much but our outside shooting worked. I think that was the key,” said UV coach Boy Cabahug, himself an outside gunner in his prime.

The Lancers, seven-time champions in the Cebu Athletic School Foundation, Inc. (CESSAFI), whipped up a big third-quarter storm as they turned a 37-40 deficit to a 72-60 lead going to the final period.

Von Lanete, one of the three Lanete playing siblings, made 13 of his 14 points while Dennison and Berame combined for 20 points in that UV breakaway.

Tristan Pagente and Leo Santiago led the losing team with 19 and 18 points, respectively.

The winner of the annual event, now on its fifth year, will receive P500,000 worth of scholarships. The next three finishers will get P200,000, P100,000 and P50,000, respectively.