CEBU, Philippines - It was a weekend of surprises and the expected at the ongoing games of the Under 19 division of the ThreeSixty Pharmacy Cup 2013: CYBL 6 at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Mango Avenue Campus Gym.
In a twist of fortunes, University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) leaned on a big first half lead to upset the University of the Visayas, 46-44, but got a dose of its own medicine as it bowed to University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF), 62-58.
Meanwhile, the CVIRAA High School, ACES and UV U16 teams cruised to convincing wins. CVIRAA stopped Adgers, 48-38, while ACES scored two wins, 58-28 over SHS-Ateneo 2 and 56-34 over Lucky 40. The UV U16 side cruised past Lucky 40, 95-20 and SHS-Ateneo 2, 66-27.
USJ-R stunned UV by taking a 14-3 lead after one period, increased this to 27-14 at halftime and 40-26 after three quarters, leaving the Lancers with the daunting task of staging a huge rally, which they did.
Finally recovering from the slow start, the Lancers inched their way back into the ballgame, cutting the lead down to three, 45-42 with 45 seconds left in the game.
Angelo Robillo gave USJR a 46-42 lead with a free throw before Ralph Dinolan countered for UV for the final count.
In its second game over the weekend, USJ-R got a dose of its own medicine when they bowed to USPF. In a reversal of roles, underdog USPF surprised USJ-R by controlling the first three periods, taking a 44-36 lead going into the fourth quarter.
USJ-R stormed back in the final period, slowly but surely cutting the lead and tying the game at 58-all with 1:11 left in the game. Sheldon Gahi broke USJ-R’s backs with his third triple of the game for a 61-58 lead with 26 seconds left. Robillo then missed two free throws for USJR with six seconds left, bringing to a halt the USJR rally. (PR)
CVIRAA now leads Group A of the Under 19 division with a 2-0 slate followed by USPF (2-1), UV (1-1), USJ-R (1-2) and Adgers (0-2). ACES and the UV U16 teams share the top spot of Group B with 2-0 records. SHS-Ateneo 2 and Lucky 40 tote 0-2 records. The top two of each group move on to the crossover semifinals for the playoffs. (PR)