CEBU, Philippines — The Benedicto College (BC) Cheetahs overpowered the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, 70-63, to punch a ticket to the Final Four of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Season 24 men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday night, November 12, at the Cebu Coliseum.
Currently third in the college leaderboard with a 5-1 win-loss slate, the BJ Murillo-mentored Cheetahs are already assured of a place in the semifinals regardless of the outcome of their last two assignments against the undefeated University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters and the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats next week.
Denrick Orgong spearheaded Benedicto’s upset of USJ-R with 21 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and a block.
Albert Joshua Tolipas bagged 16 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Junil Bulan added 12 points, six rebounds and two assists for the Cheetahs, who used a 20-10 blast in the second frame to turn a hairline edge into a double-digit advantage at halftime, 35-24.
The Cheetahs never looked back from there, even stretching their lead to 14 points, 66-52, halfway through the final quarter.
Elmer Echavez and Jay Dieparine each scored 13 points but to no avail as the Jaguars ended their elimination round campaign with an even 4-4 record and may crash out of the semis race depending on CIT-U’s performance in its last three matches.
In the juniors division, the University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors claimed back-to-back victories with a 68-63 beating of the Cebu Roosevelt Memorial Colleges (CRMC) Baby Mustangs.
Xian Garcia fired 23 points on top of eight rebounds, Neil Ibarita tallied 10 markers laced with four boards, one assist and two steals, while Brad Miguel Yu made a significant contribution with a near triple-double of eight points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals as the Baby Warriors improved to 2-7 going into their last two games of the season.
Karl John Agravante netted 15 points, eight rebounds and six steals, while Erick Estalani and Leonil Caguete connived for 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Baby Mustangs, who suffered their eighth defeat against only one win so far.