CEC survives CIT-U in CESAFI hoop

CEBU, Philippines - High school defending champion Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons nailed their fourth win but were made to work extra harder before escaping with a 67-62 victory over the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildkittens last night the 11th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season at the Cebu Coliseum.

Last year, they crushed CIT-U, 87-57, but it was a different story last night as they had a roller-coaster ride. Thanks to Luther Huevos' crucial charities in the final nine seconds they were able to squeeze through a shaky five-point victory.

The Wildkittens came close on a basket by Niko Otadoy, 62-65, but the Dragons still have some extra time left and both teams were under the penalty.

The fouling out of James Neil Sumayang attributed to the Dragons' collapse as there were still five minutes left in the fourth period.

Sumayang though led the Dragons with 22 points and Alfred Anecito Sedillo added 12 markers. Huevos and Rex Darwin Villarosa chipped in 10 points apiece as they improved to 4-1.

Otadoy, who is never afraid to take crucial shots and the hero of their 59-56 victory over the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars, led the Wildkittens with 15 points.They, however, are at far distance with a 1-5 slate.

In the other game, the Baby Panthers demolished the Baby Jaguars, 100-70, sending the Dragons a message that they should not be taken lightly today. Even last year when they met, the Dragons could not win big enough against the Baby Panthers, who just lost by 14 points, 73-87.

Meanwhile, the University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors finally barged into the win column after scoring a 59-48 win against the University of Cebu (UC) Junior Webmasters.   - (THE FREEMAN)