Warriors secure semis berth

CEBU, Philippines - The University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors breezed through a 71-67 victory over the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers to complete the semifinal cast in the collegiate division of the 11th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season last Sunday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Games today

(Cebu Coliseum)

5:15 pm CIT-U vs. USPF (jrs.)

6:45 pm USJ-R vs. CIT-U (srs.)

The Warriors finished the double round robin elimination with a 7-5 win-loss record to claim the fourth semis spot. It would be a toss-up between the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers (7-2) and the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras (7-3) for the second place that will be decided after their October 9 duel.

Cid Cortes and Robert Gines Codilla's crucial charities helped decide the match for the Warriors even as it was Michael Cantonao's free throws in the final 7.8 seconds that sealed the deal for them.

The Warriors, outscored by the Panthers in the third period, 26-18, maintained a slim lead in the entire fourth quarter until Ed Christopher Cabahug tied the count at 62-all inside the final three-minute mark of the contest. Fritz Dajalos knotted the count for the last time at 64-all with only two minutes left to play.

A win was still possible for the Panthers who were just down by a matchstick, 66-67, with 1:05 to go but when a clutch basket was direly needed, Dajalos missed two free throws off a fifth foul by Sam Hermosa.

The Panthers, who will face the UV Lancers in their final elimination round assignment, are already out of the semifinal race with a 4-7 win-loss card.They started the season with a 3-0 record but lost their next three games. They could afford only one victory in the second round.

Cantonao topscored for the Warriors with 15 points, while Cortes and Giovanni Padillo chipped in 14 markers apiece.

Dajalos had 20 points for the Panthers but his efforts went for naught for missing three important charities.

In the secondary matches, the Baby Panthers escaped with a 73-70 win over the smaller USC Baby Warriors, the UV Baby Lancers skinned the DBTC Greywolves alive, 108-63, while the CEC Dragons feasted on the USJ-R Baby Jaguars, 86-76.

The scores

USC (71) - Cantonao 15, Cortes 14, Padillo 14, Hermosa 10, Codilla 6, Otida 5, Bautista 5, Panerio 2

USPF (67) - Dajalos 20, J. Ferraren 15, Sedurifa 7, Sollano 5, Camello 4, Misa 2, Avila 2, Cabahug 2, Fuentes 2, Meca 2, E. Ferraren 2 Halftime: 31-26 (THE FREEMAN)