Lancers demolish Warriors to go 3-0 in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines - The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers banked on a furious third-quarter explosion to blow away the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 98-76, to earn a share of the lead in the 12th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament last Sunday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Lancers, thus, joined the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) on top of the totem pole with identical 3-0 win-loss records.

Rock-solid center Hernal "Wowie" Escocio bulldozed his way to a 21-point finish for the Lancers as no one from the Warriors' camp were strong and courageous enough to challenge him at the post.

UV's 6-foot-7 Nigerian mainstay Steve Cedrick Akomo did not much have playing time as coach Felix "Donbel" Belano opted to give more exposure to his locals.

Inspite of that, Akomo, who was slapped with a technical foul late in the third period for slamming the ball hard that it went outside the railings, finished with 12 points spotlighted by a two-hander slam in the final quarter.

Jerome Silva added 17 points for the Lancers, while comebacking guard Eman Calo tossed in 11 markers. Phil Mercader and John Michael Abad contributed 10 points each to underscore UV's offensive wealth.

Nilton John Otida led the Warriors with 21 points spiked with three triples. American-Taiwanese Stephen Que banged in 17 markers, while Mel Steven Duran had 10 in a losing effort for the Carolinians.

In the secondary matches, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles coasted to their fourth straight win in as many starts after demolishing the University of Cebu (UC) Junior Webmasters, 86-62, while the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildkittens pummeled the USJ-R Baby Jaguars, 102-66.

Defending champion UV Baby Lancers, on the other hand, stretched their unbeaten streak to three with an 82-72 shellacking of the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons.

CEC dropped to 2-2 in a tie with CIT-U and UC.

The scores

UV (98) - Escocio 21, Silva 17, Akomo 12, Clo 11, Mercader 10, Abad 10, Avillanoza 4, Mendoza 2, Babia 2, Huevos 2, Arong 2, Perolino 2

USC (76) - Otida 21, Que 17, Duran 10, Cantonao 8, Magat 8, Valencia 5, De Jesus 4, Adlawan 3 (FREEMAN)