USC coach tells players in comeback win over UC: ‘Take pride in playing defense!’
AS THE final buzzer sounded and the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors emerged with an 80-77 victory over the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters on Thursday night, Paul Joven finally let go of a sigh of relief, having gotten his very first win as head coach in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Season 22 men’s basketball tournament.
“I was more tense as a coach than I was a player,” said Joven — one of the cornerstones of the Warriors when they made back-toback appearances in the
Cesafi finals in 2006 and 2007 — after USC escaped with the three-point win in a game wherein they trailed by as much as 15, 38-53, in the second half.
For a moment, it looked as if USC would suffer the same fate it did in their first game against the University of the Visayas (UV): lose by a huge margin after keeping it close in the first half. However, the Warriors flipped the script, hanging its hat on its tremendous defense to bridge the gap and eventually take over in the final period.
“We made adjustments defense,” said Joven. “We talked about handling your man on defense and just taking immense pride in playing defense. That’s what this team is all about.”
Stephen Harley dela Paz scored 18 points to lead USC which improved to 1-1, while Froiland Mangubat and Jomari Ranuco added 14 apiece.
UC dropped to 0-2 despite the 16 points of Luigi Gabisan.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s four-game bill begins at 12:30 p.m. and will feature UV taking on the University of San Jose-recoletos (USJ-R) while the UC Lapulapu Mandaue (UCLM) battles the Cebu Institute of Technology-university (CIT-U) in the high school division.
In the collegiate games, USC returns to the floor to take on CIT-U, while UV clashes against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation Panthers.