CEBU, Philippines - It's a make or break situation for the fourth seed Enervon-UC Webmasters when they figure in a sudden-death duel against the fifth-ranked Aerosol-USPF Panthers for the last semifinal seat in the collegiate division of the 4th CESAFI Partner's Cup today at the Cebu Coliseum.
Games today (Cebu Coliseum)
3:30 pm CIT vs. UV (Jrs.)
5 pm UC vs. USJ-R (Jrs.)
6:30 pm UC vs. USPF (Srs.)
Earlier this afternoon, topseeds UC Junior Webmasters and Bibbo-CIT Wildkittens both gun for a 1-0 lead against separate foes as the semifinal showdown in the secondary level kicks off.
The Webmasters' semifinal entry was stalled after the Panthers scored a 67-64 victory in their previous meeting to live and fight for another day.
Since losing to the top three contenders in Ave Maria-USJR Jaguars, San Marino Corned Tuna-USC Warriors and the PTT Fuels-UV Lancers, questions were raised whether the 6-foot-9 June Mar Fajardo and the Webmasters are indeed legitimate title contenders as they even had a hard time in dealing with the Panthers.
For the Webmasters to renew their semis bid, they cannot afford to lose as they are facing no tomorrow, while for the Panthers, there is still hope and they could probably see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel by simply playing 40 minutes of excellent basketball.The Webmasters have all the weapons to win not just because of Fajardo's presence but because they have the experience with the return of Edward Pao who can add more muscles to their offense.
The other vital cogs of UC include Kelvin Juliane, Rommel Luceno and Kevin Quilantang.
The Panthers, on the other hand, want to make a statement as they are going for one of the biggest upsets in the tournament.
And the way the Panthers get going, there is not much surprise if they knock out the Webmasters because in their previous games, they lost to UV and USC in a close contest decided only in the last few seconds.
Elvis Labares will be the man to match out for in USPF's fold. Of course, he needs the support of Ellison Rivera, Fritz Dajalos, Christina Tinoy, Elwin Durano, Dennis Ferraren and Randy Avila for them to complete a two-game sweep over UC. – THE FREEMAN