UV nails two more victories in Coke PBA tilt

CEBU, Philippines - The University of the Visayas/Cebu scored two more wins to grab a share of second place in the national finals of the Coca-Cola PBA Youngstars Basketball Tournament 2012 in Manila. UV/Cebu dumped Laguna, 68-42, then pulled off a crucial win over Pampanga, 52-45, to up its record to 3-1.

 Starting slowly again against Laguna, UV/Cebu broke the game wide open with a big second quarter run, stretching a close 13-9 lead after one period to 31-17 at halftime.

Leonard Santillan and Gerard Fernandez had 15 and 14 points, respectively, to lead the Cebuanos.

In the Pampanga game, UV/Cebu used a strong third quarter to get the crucial win and a share of second place in the standings.

From a 24-all standoff at halftime, UV/Cebu streaked to a 43-33 lead after three periods to seize control of the match.

UV/Cebu needs to beat Caloocan in its last assignment to make it to the finals against Taytay/San Beda, which earned the first ticket to the championship.

A loss, coupled with a Pampanga loss to Taytay, would create a three-way tie for second place among Cebu, Caloocan and Pampanga.

Pampanga is also looking to upset Taytay in its last game to create a logjam at the top of the standings. Taytay/San Beda is at 4-0, followed by Cebu and Pampanga (3-1), Caloocan (2-2), Laguna (0-4) and Davao (0-4). - THE FREEMAN