Jaguars tackle listless Panthers in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines - The University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars and the University of Southern Philippines Foundation Panthers hope to end their campaign in the first round of elimination on a bright note as they take on each other today in the 15th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Jaguars and the Panthers will clash in the main match at 5:30 p.m., right after a heavy triple-header under the juniors division.

Under the tutelage of Jun Noel, the Jaguars are without doubt a fighting force. It’s only that they don’t pack a power punch to finish off their foes especially at the endgame. The good thing is that they always gave their heavyweight rivals a run for their money every time they play.

Against the listless Panthers, the Jaguars are a shoo-in to notch their second win in six starts. To achieve that, they will count on the likes of Kevin Villafranca, Jaybie Mantilla, Mark Labares, Ralph Dinolan, Miguel Gastador, Nelvin Navarra, Renzo Senining, and Ricky Peromingan among others.

The Panthers, on the other hand, will rely on Brantford Borces, Dan Silorio, Winston Bolivar, Kino Bajamunde, Thomas Laver, John Alocillo, Jayson Cando, Lyndon Colin and Gilberto Sastrilla as they try to snap out of their five-game jinx.

In the opener at 1 p.m., the Cebu Eastern College Dragons (1-4) will go up against the University of Cebu Junior Webmasters (4-2),  while the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers (2-3) will mix it up with the USPF Baby Panthers (3-2) at 2:30 p.m.

The University of San Carlos Baby Warriors (4-0), for their part, will try to earn a share of lead with the Sacred Heart Scholol-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles as they tackle the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildkittens at 4 p.m. (FREEMAN)