SHS-Ateneo, UV in do-or-die duel

CEBU, Philippines -  The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles and the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers will settle their unfinished business once and for all as they collide in the deciding match of their best-of-three finals series in the juniors division of the 14th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Incorporated men's basketball tournament today at the Cebu Coliseum.

Game time is set at 2 p.m.

The Magis Eagles prevailed in the opener, 56-51, but the Baby Lancers pushed the series into its full route with an emphatic 59-56 victory in Game 2 that also snapped out of their three-game jinx against the defending champions this season.

While the Baby Lancers are banking on their experience, the Magis Eagles will try to maintain their cohesiveness and stick to their good ball rotation, the very same pattern that brought them to an 11-game winning streak. After that rousing start though, they were caught off-guard by the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildkittens, who handed them their first defeat, 57-60.

That unexpected setback to the underrated Wildkittens sent a strong indication that the Magis Eagles are indeed beatable and that was translated by the Baby Lancers into a three-point victory in Game 2. Another interesting factor is that in their past three games, the Magis Eagles could not go beyond the 50-plus output.

Now comes their final meeting of the season that whoever blinks will pay dearly.

This is the moment of truth, a time for big moves and there should be no room for mistakes for the two protagonists.

As usual, the Baby Lancers will rely heavily on their solid starting crew composed of John Carl Escalona, Orlan Wamar, Theo Joshua Flores, Raul Jancork Cabahug and Samuel Schaub. On the other hand, the Magis Eagles are not losing patience on the offensive meltdown of their veteran ward Janjan Jaboneta, who is bound to make up from his skidding performance with the support of Joshua Sinclair, Piero Longa, Joseph Mayol, Nino Araw-araw and Zach Huang, among others. (FREEMAN)