Slaughter, Fajardo take centerstage as UV, UC commence final battle

CEBU, Philippines - The league’s mighty goliaths in 6-foot-11 Greg Slaughter and 6-foot-9 June Mar Fajardo will surely be the center of attraction as eight-time champion University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers collide with the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters in Game 1 of their best-of-five finals series for the collegiate championship of the 9th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season tonight at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today

(Cebu Coliseum)

For third

1:00 pm UV vs. UC (Jrs.)

2:30 pm USC vs. USJ-R (Srs.)

Finals

4:00 pm CIT vs. USJ-R (Jrs.)

6:30 pm UC vs. UV (Srs.)

Slaughter, now in his last playing year with the Lancers, wants to leave a legacy to his younger comrades by exiting with another crown, while Fajardo, who is making his maiden finals appearance,

carries a heavy load on his broad shoulders with hopes of giving the Webmasters their first crown ever in CESAFI history.

Both Slaughter and Fajardo were not yet in their respective teams when the Lancers and the Webmasters figured in the 2005 finals. The Webmasters failed to advance for three straight years, paving the way for the UV-USC shown in 2006 and 2007, while the Lancers smashed the USJ-R Jaguars in 2008 for an unprecedented eight straight title.

For two consecutive occasions this year, Fajardo sent a message to Slaughter that he is more ready to rise above the challenge this time.

During their first meeting this season last August 2, Fajardo powered UC to a 75-73 stunner over UV and just recently, Fajardo’s West All-Stars pulled off an 85-84 squeaker over the Slaughter-led East side.

Their third encounter tonight though is bigger as the championship is on the line and it would be up to these two giants on how they perform to bring honor and glory to their beloved alma mater.

Dissecting through their respective rosters, the Lancers and the Webmasters are equipped with heavy offensive arsenals.

In the Lancers’ camp minus the suspended Eulogio Lasala, Jr., Slaughter’s supporting cast include sneaky guard Harold Cincoflores, the crafty Chris Victor Diputado and pesky defender Ritchum Dennison manning the backcourt.

On the UC side of things, the frontliners also include Moncrief Rogado, Arvin Kim Gomez, Janssen Abella and Kelvin Juliane.

Slaughter relishes the comfort of having Edrian Lao, Mark Anthony Manigque and Jerome Silva involved in the rotation, giving them a big advantage at the post.

Only Rommel Luceño can be a great compliment for Fajardo at the frontcourt as the Webmasters cannot really rely on rookie Mark Tano as well as on Jal Anthony Cueva and Pompeo Miranda.

Whoever wins in their initial battle will certainly enjoy a psychological advantage in the entire series that some pundits believe will go the full distance.

Meanwhile, the USC Warriors moved a win away from bagging the third place honors in the collegiate division after beating the USJ-R Jaguars, 79-72.

Joven Cid Cortes, who failed to finish the game after suffering a bad fall with his chest landing on the floor first, led the Warriros with 27 points, while Giovanni Padillo scored 21.   (FREEMAN NEWS)