UV-Phl Team suffers another crushing defeat in Universiade

CEBU, Philippines - Team Philippines, represented by the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers, crashed to its second straight defeat at the hands of two-time defending champion Serbia, 44-125, in the 27th Summer Universiade yesterday at the Miras Sports Complex in Kazan, Russia.

The taller and bigger Serbs, who greeted the game with a 7-0 bang, closed the first period with only a nine-point lead, 24-15, but broke the game wide open using a 35-11 blitz in the second quarter for a 59-26 advantage at halftime.

After the short break, Serbia launched another devastating 29-10 attack, then handcuffed the hapless Philippine side to only eight points while scoring 37 in the final canto to wrap up the  81-point blowout.

Aside from their heft and height, the Serbs also capitalized on their speed and agility in grabbing 20 steals while limiting the Pinoys to only six in that department. They were also ahead by a mile in assists, 34-5, while forcing the Cebu-based squad to a terrible 40 turnovers.

The Serbs also held a virtual shooting clinic, hitting 78 percent from the field on a 36-of-46 conversions. In stark contest, Team PHL converted only 17 of 44 attempts. The Serbs were also superb at the free throw line at 41-56, while holding off the Lancers to a paltry 4-of-6 from the stripe.

Serbia, thus, joined Romania at the top of their bracket with identical 2-0 win-loss records, while Phl, which was beaten to the pulp by Romania the other day, 58-106, joined fellow Asian entries Japan and Mongolia at the cellar.

Six Serbian players charted double figures led by Milos Dimic and Dorde Drenovac with 22 and 20 points, respectively. John Abad paced UV-Phl with eight points followed by Vincent Mendoza and Cris Perolino with seven apiece.

The scores

Serbia (125) - Dimic 22, Dorde 20, Gagic 15, Markovic 14, Zivanovic 12, Djokic 12, Jovic 9, Malesevic 6, Kalinic 6, Balaban 5, Majstorovic 4,

UV-Phl (44) - Abad 8, Mendoza 7, Perolino 7, Codilla 6, Escocio 4, Cabañero 4, Babia 4, Marquez 2, Octobre 2 (FREEMAN)