CEC Dragons shock Magis Eagles, keep Final Four bid alive in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons pulled off a stunning 71-61 upset of the defending champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles to keep their semifinal hopes alive in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Season 23 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Cebu Coliseum on Saturday, November 18.

Explosive playmaker Lybron James Lamo erupted for 23 points, while Xerxes Yael Duran and Caelan Mack chipped in 13 points apiece for the Dragons, who halted the Magis Eagles’ seven-game winning streak to stay in contention for the last Final Four berth in the juniors division with a 6-3 win-loss record.

Lamo and Duran sparked a fiery start for the Dragons, combining for 15 points to propel CEC to a confidence-boosting 23-14 edge after the first 10 minutes of play.

Duran nailed all his 13 markers in the first half to help the Dragons stay on top by eight at the break, 39-31.

The Easternians then took full control of the match the rest of the way, even maintaining double-digit leads including at 61-49 count early in the final quarter.

The closest the Magis Eagles could come was at 54-61 as Lamo scored on back-to-back layups with savvy before Andrey Roa hit a basket off a nifty drop pass to virtually seal the deal for the Dragons with an insurmountable 71-58 advantage in the dying seconds of the contest.

The victory pushed the Dragons at joint fourth and fifth spots with the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers, who fell to 6-3 after bowing to University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars, 52-58.

The Magis Eagles dropped to second place with a 7-2 slate despite Jared Bahay’s 26-point outburst.

The Baby Jaguars, on the other hand, earned a share of lead with the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) Baby Webmasters with identical 7-1 cards. — (FREEMAN)