University of the Visayas stars shine the brightest

CEBU, Philippines- The spirited hardcourt warriors from the University of the Visayas, both in the high school and college division, stole the thunder as the East swept the West in the 15th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. All-Star Games yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

Cameroonian rim-rattler Steve Cedrick Akomo unloaded 19 points, while flashy guard June Kent Manzo churned out 18 points to power the East squad of coach Gary Cortes to a 92-79 whacking of the West side.

Manzo romped off with the All-Star MVP trophy for his stellar performance anchored on an 8-of-12 shooting from the field. He scored seven straight points within the final two-minute mark of the contest that finally knocked the lights off the West.

Alvin Aguirre, also of UV, and Jan Michael Auditor of the Southwestern University Cobras each scored 10 for the East team, which took full command of the match after jumping off to a 23-17 start.

The East saw its biggest least at 23 points, 53-31, with just two minutes gone by in the third quarter. The closest the West could come was at seven points, 73-80, as SWU's Melvin Holper sank a buzzer-beating trey before Manzo completed his game-long brilliance with a 3-point dagger and a pair of layups to settle the final outcome.

Manzo, Akomo and Aguirre all made it to the elite Mythical Five alongside Michael Auditor of SWU and Garciano Puerto of the University of Cebu Webmasters.

In the juniors level, Jancork Cabahug of the UV Baby Lancers dished out a solid double-double show of 20 points and 11 rebounds to proper Team East to an 89-74 drubbing of the West.

For his exemplary showing, Cabahug emerged as  the hands-down choice as MVP. He automatically made it to the Mythical Five together with James Tempra of the Cebu Eastern College Dragons, and Travis Mantua, Jed Colonia and Ain Obenza of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles.

With Cabahug at the helm, the East kept the West at bay after taking a 21-13 edge at the end of the opening session. The burly UV forward drew huge support from Tempra and John Kirck Gonzaga of the University of San Jose-Recoletos Baby Jaguars with 12 markers apiece.

It was indeed a historic feat for the UV Lancers as in between games, Leonard Santillan and Franz Arong dominated the Slam Dunk contest and the 3-point shootout, respectively. (FREEMAN)