CEBU, Philippines - The University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers grounded the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHS-J) Eagles but not without a struggle before eking out a 89-82 victory to formally close the elimination round at second place in the juniors division of the 9th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season last Wednesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Baby Lancers led by 11 points at halftime, 50-39, but the Eagles started strong in the third period where they proved their tenacity to cut down the deficit to just six points, 51-57.
Refusing to give up, the spirited Eagles kept on inching closer as they came within four, 80-84, at the final 2:09 mark of the contest.
However, the Baby Lancers relied on their experience to foil the Eagles' comeback bid. They finished with a 7-1 win-loss record behind the undefeated University of Cebu (UC) Junior Webmasters, who completed a rare eight-game sweep following their 22-point demolition of the CIT Wildkittens the other day.
Gerald Legarde, who hit a couple of crucial baskets that helped save the day for the Baby Lancers, topscored with 18 points, while Mark Linao tossed in 16 markers.
After an impressive 4-0 start, the Eagles fumbled in their remaining four games to settle as the fifth seed going into the quarterfinal round next week.
Kristoffer James Porter paced the Eagles with 22 points followed by Adrian Marvin Ronald Muller with 13. Bradley Bacaltos and Jerry Jan Albert Seno banged in 12 markers apiece in a losing effort.
The scores
UV (89) - Legarde 18, Linao 16, Brigoli 11, Ybañez 10, Marata 7, Pero 6, Smith 5, Calvo 4, Arong 4, Navaja 4, Suan 2, Mendoza 2SHS-J (82) - Porter 22, Muller 13, Bacaltos 12, Seno 12, Diputado 9, Rama 8, K. Dinsay 4, Branzuela 2
Halftime: 50-39. – THE FREEMAN