UC tops USC in CESAFI semis

CEBU, Philippines – The University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters exploited the height advantage of 6'9" center Junemar Fajardo and relied on the quickness of their guards to demolish the undermanned University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 81-64, in their first semifinal round assignment of the ongoing Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum last Thursday.

Fajardo who started the third period with an alley-oop shot and finished with an awkward slam in the closing seconds of the ballgame, led the Webmasters' offense with 25 points capped by a couple of three-point play opportunities.

The Warriors that have been depleted since the start of the tournament, played without Sam Hermosa in the entire fourth quarter as he fouled out.

The USC squad started with only seven out of nine players in their roster due to the injuries of Michael Cantonao and Giovanni Padillo.

Leading by 11 points at the break, 44-33, the Webmasters increased it to 18 points, 56-38 late in the third period.

Aside from Fajardo's intimidating presence at the post, the Webmasters also got a big lift from power forward Edward Pao and exploited their advantage on the guard position with Quinton Brian Heruela bulldozing his defenders while Kelvin Juliane used his quickness by intercepting the passes from the Warriors' camp.

Another guard Francis Luigi Bercede made impact in both offense and defense as the former Warrior chipped in with 10 points for the Webmasters identical with that of Pao's output.              

The Webmasters need only to win tonight against the Cobras to return to the finals but in the meantime, all eyes are focused on the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers' precarious campaign after suffering a heart-breaking loss to the fourth-ranked Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras, 52-51.           

Lanky center Robert Gines Codilla top scored for the Warriors with 19 points.

The only other Warrior to hit double digits was Padillo as he contributed 10. (FREEMAN)