SWU nips Letran in Mandaue

CEBU, Philippines - High-spirited point guard, Elliud Poligrates once again proved his mettle after spearheading the Southwestern University’s victory against the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights during the Mayor Jonas Cortes Cup 2010 Invitational Cup the other night at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.

 Poligrates, a member of the two-time Liga Pilipinas National champion M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Cebu Niños, led SWU Cobras in the final canto to snatch the win against the perennial NCAA title contender.

With a four-point advantage over the Cobras in the second half, 32-28, the Knights came raging at the start of the third quarter under the leadership of

Jaypee Belencio and Kevin Alas, who collected 32 points combined, to stretch its lead with nine markers, 59-68, at the end of the quarter.

Poligrates, used the knowledge and skills he learned being part of the Cebu Niños, he was able to manage 11 points in the final period while Rene Pacquiao poured in three triples to shorten the advantage at one point against the Knights, 74-75, in the last 53 seconds.

 The fast-break lay-up of Eleazar Armacin, which was followed by the two free throws from Poligrates, sealed Cobras triumph, 77-73.

 In the opening match, Team Mandaue overpowered the recent Partner’s Cup champion, University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, 80-74.

The Scores:

First Game

Team Mandaue (80) – Rañeses 13, Diputado 12, Latonio 12, Laygo 12, Mercader 9, Isidro 6, Cortes 5, Labares 4, Bercede 2, Dajalos 2, Denison 2, Garcia 1.

USJ-R (74) – Justiniani 14, Delfino 11, Malinao 11, Amores 8, Gabas 8, Senining 6, Ponce 5, Lapiz 3, Bibera 2, Dela Peña 2, Hatague 2, Pogoy 2.

Second Game

SWU (77) – Poligrates 21, Pacquiao 19, Armecin 17, Pria 10, Diango 6, Dadang 4.  

Letran Knights (73) – Belencion 18, Alas K. 13, Alas 11, Cortes 8, Daysam 8, Rodil 7, Relorio 4, Almarazan 2, Taplah 2.  (FREEMAN NEWS)