Jaguars battle Wildcats with eyes on top 2 spot

The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars shoot for a crucial victory that would ensure them of a top two finish when they face the Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT-U) Wildcats at the end of the double round elimination in the collegiate division of the 18th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men’s basketball tournament today at the Cebu Coliseum.

Should the Jaguars tame the Wildcats in their 5:15 p.m. duel, they will forge a three-way tie with two-time defending champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers and the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters atop the leaderboard on identical 9-3 win-loss records.

In such case, chances are high for the Jaguars to emerge as the No.2 seed having crushed the Webmasters by 16 points in one of their two meetings.

The Lancers, on the other hand, are already a lock for the No.1 spot on account of their 80-59 shellacking of the Webmasters last Sunday night.

As per league format, the top two teams at the end of the classification stage will enjoy a twice-to-beat incentive in the crossover semifinals.

On the other hand, the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors are in a must-win situation when they clash with the Southwestern University( S WU) Ph in ma Cobra sin the main match at 6:45 p.m.

The Warriors, sporting a 4-7 mark, are hard-pressed to take down the Cobras to sustain their bid of claiming the fourth and last semis berth.—