CEBU, Philippines - Peppery guard Quinton Brian Heruela split his charities in the finals 3.6 seconds of the contest but it was enough to power defending champion University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters to a 77-76 cliffhanger over the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors in the 12th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
Earlier, Southwestern University's Cameroonian twin towers Justin Aboude and Benoit Mbala conspired for 40 points as the third-ranked Cobras knocked out the sixth seed Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats, 91-70.
With the score tied at 76-all, Heruela was fouled by USC's Chinese-American recruit Stephen Que. He made only one of his twin gift shots but that was all he needed to catapult the Webmasters into the semifinal round.
It was a fitting end to what had been a memorable night for Heruela, who exploded with 29 points for the Webmasters.
Michael Cantonao topscored with 24 points for the Warriors, who already bowed out of the seven-team league. It was a heart-breaking loss for USC as they raced to a blistering 14-0 start before the Webmasters rallied for good.
In the secondary division, the third seed CIT-U Wildkittens eliminated the no. 6 seed UC Junior Webmasters, 96-85, but the fifth seed Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons lived and fight for another day after fending off the twice-to-beat USC Baby Warriors, 83-70.
The scores
First game
SWU (91) - Aboude 23, Mbala 16, Dedace 16, Arong 13, Bregondo 4, Casquejo 4, Ortuyo 3, Nalos 2, Gloran 2, Pajantoy 2
CIT-U (70) - Rabaya 21, Taghoy 15, Taboada 12, Dimco 11, Brigoli 4, Batiquin 2, Graf 2, Tabalin 2, Infante 1
Second game
UC (77) - Heruela 29, Cabrera 14, Wagas 9, Mohammad 8, Gomez 8, Quilantang 6, Cueva 4
USC (76) - Cantonao 24, Otida 15, Que 11, Pepito 8, Magat 5, Adlawan 4, Bautista 3, Duran 2, Valencia 1 (FREEMAN)