Spoiler alert
UC spoils higher-ranked team USC’s start of Cesafi jrs. caging semis
THE University of Cebu Baby Webmasters proved to be the competition spoilers as they defeated the higher-ranked University of San Carlos Baby Warriors 76-66 in the semifinal round of the 2015 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) high school basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
And the credit for this overwhelming win went to the diminutive Gelmart Umpad, a flashy point guard from Medellin, Cebu, who nearly logged a triple-double performance while orchestrating the Baby Webmasters offense around the relatively taller USC.
The win however did not come easy as UC needed to regroup after the Baby Warriors had a strong start that put them ahead 17-8.
But behind the speedy quarterbacking of Umpad and the outside scoring of Froilan Mangubat, UC got the momentum and turned the table around 30-26 at the halftime break.
UC continued its runand-gun game that put them ahead 66-50 in the fourth.
However, they felt contented with the lead and slowed down its offense, giving the boys of coach Britt Reroma to regroup and put up a gallant stand that got them to within three, 66-69, in the final 90 seconds.
Thanks to the timely triple by Mangubat at the 1:14 mark, it reignited the fire within the Webmasters as they held USC, the No.2 finishers during the elimination round, scoreless in the last 1:30 of the game.
UC’s Luigi Gabisan and Mangubat finished the job with a fastbreak drive and two free throws respectively for the final tally.
Mangubat scored the game-high 28 points that included a 7-of-14 shooting from the three point area and a 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Umpad however made the big difference as the smallest player on the court scored 12 points, 10 rebounds, dished out nine assists and six steals for Baby Webmasters’ first move to its return to the Finals.
Jason Abejo also added 16 points and Gabisan contributed 10 points for UC’s win, while Alje Mendez topscored USC with 15 points and Ken Gato made 14 points.
Although, UC committed 17 more turnovers than USC’s 12, it was the 11 triples, the 16 to 9 advantage in assists and the 14-4 disparity in steals that defined the Baby Webmasters win.
It was a vengeance of the 67-76 loss of UC to USC last Aug. 8.
After the second semifinal game, UC tied with the defending champions Sacred Heart SchoolAteneo de Cebu Magis Eagles with 1-0 start, while USC dropped along with UV Baby Lancers with 0-1.