Webmasters knock out Jaguars, march into finals
EMMANUEL B. VILLARUEL LEMUEL P. MAGLINTE
Facing no tomorrow, both teams gave their all and fought to their last breath.
Not wanting to lose that their suspense-filled match even went beyond the regular 40minute time frame to the delight of fans.
When the storm has calmed, the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters came out blaring the victory trumpet.
Riding on the breakout performance of Garciano Puerto and the endgame brilliance of Justine Dacalos, the Webmasters completed their domination over the twice-to-beat University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, 80-75, to advance into the finals of the 17th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
It was UC's first trip to the championship round since 2011 when the Webmasters won the crown under the leadership of June Mar Fajardo, now a PBA great with three consecutive MVP awards tucked under his belt with the San Miguel Beermen.
Puerto sizzled with 22 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out four assists, while Dacalos finished with 12 points spotlighted by a booming triple that sent the game into overtime and crucial charities that sealed the Webmasters dramatic win.
Both eager to get back into the finals, the Webmasters and the Jaguars locked themselves up in a close-quarter battle that was accounted for eight deadlocks and 13 lead changes.
Leading by three points, 71-68, the Jaguars were actually on the brink of triumph but wasted their golden opportunity after Julius Pacaunayan missed two free throws with only six seconds left in the regulation period.
With time winding down, Dacalos gamely wore the hero's cape to sink the game-extending triple that literally lifted the Webmasters and their small throng of supporters led by PBA star Dondon Hontiveros, one of their brightest products, to high heavens.
Still, the Jaguars came out fighting in the extra five-minute period, but were on top for the last time at 75-74 with 2:14 left.
As pressure caught up with the Jaguars and forced them into a string of costly errors, Joren Tagudin, John Calvin Jabello and Dacalos shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe in the last 49 seconds, with each of their hit coming like sharp blows that knocked out the Jaguars in the end.
Cameroonian import Frederick Elombi finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three assists, while Jabello contributed 14 markers for the Webmasters, who earned the right to challenge the defending champion University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers in the best-ofthree finals series starting on October 11.
Tricky Dyn Peromingan and RJ Dinola each scored 15, while Nelvin Navarra had 10 points. Leading MVP candidate Jaybie Mantilla was again the missing link, scoring only a paltry five points as the Jaguars were relegated into a battle for third place against the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors this Tuesday.