BABY WEBMASTERS INCH TO SEMIS
UC stomps Baby Panthers, 91-78, as it braces for three wins to get slot in Cesafi semifinals
Every game is now important for the University of Cebu (UC) Baby Webmasters as they aspire for a slot to the semifinal round. They gained a masterful 91-78 win over the winless University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers in the high school game of the 2017 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) Basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum last night.
Winning three straight games after stumbling twice in a row put the Webmasters in dire need of winning at least three of its last four games in the elimination to get a ticket to the Final Four.
The two-time finalists still have a date with Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons on Sept. 2, the defending champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles on Sept. 10, league leader University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers on Sept. 17 and the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars on Sept. 19.
Against the Baby Panthers, UC started out flat as Christopher Isabelo found his marks early to lead a 23-12 USPF blast by scoring 15 points.
UC regained its form in the second period with Virlou Orquez leading the way, but the Baby Webmasters had some scary moments when its team captain, the scoring machine John Bryl Cuyos, injured his ankles while the team was overhauling an 11-point deficit.
Cuyos did not return to the game and UC was left without a scoring leader.
However, Orquez, Mark Justine Nebril and Justin Mondares combined for 23 points to help UC drop a 31-13 blast that turned the tables around for good.
Nebril and Mondares had eight points each and Orquez added 7 as UC built a 71-56 lead entering the final quarter.
At the final 5:15 of the game, UC established the biggest lead of the game at 82-60 on Miguel Jusay’s four straight points, while Winston Jay Ynot tried harder to rally USPF, but his 10 points were not enough to give scare to the Baby Webmasters.
Orquez who made 11 points in the second period lead UC scorers with 22 points, Mondares added 16 and Nebril and Jusay scored 10 points each as the Baby Webmasters improved to 3-2. Isabelo finished with 24 points, Ynot made 17 and Jaffer Hernando finished with 10 as USPF suffered its fifth straight loss of the season. /