Warriors gun for 2-0 lead

CEBU, Philippines – The University of San Carlos Warriors shoot for a commanding 2-0 lead, but they must brace for an all-out war as the University of the Visayas Green Lancers will surely exhaust all means to get even in Game 2 of their best-of-five collegiate division finals in the 15th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. men's basketball tournament today at the Cebu Coliseum.

With the Warriors drawing first blood, 76-70, the Lancers find themselves in a must-win situation as no team has ever recovered after falling to a 0-2 hole in the history of CESAFI finals following the race-to-3 format.

The Lancers actually got off to a rousing start, even leading by as much as nine points, 29-18, but things dramatically changed against their favor when Steve Cedrick Akomo and their other big men got into foul trouble early. With no import in sight, the Warriors made the most from the opportunity to seize control of the match.

The Lancers were also hit hard by the absence of their star forward Leonard Santillan, who sprained his right ankle during practice and remains a doubtful starter for today's Game 2 scheduled at 6 p.m.

"It's a sorry loss for us. We had the momentum of the game until Akomo and our other big men got into foul trouble, giving USC the chance to control the game," said UV head coach Gary Cortes. "We played without Santillan and Codilla (Alfred) had a fever, which made struggle even just to run."

"But we will make the necessary adjustments specially on defense. We will do our best to bounce back in Game 2," added the former champion Lancers.

The Warriors, on their end,  also need to address something with utmost sense of urgency and that is their tendency to relax, which they could not afford to do against the Lancers with big fighting heart and great recuperative powers.

Thinking that victory was already in their bag  after leading by  17 points , 72-55, with only three minutes left to play, the Warriors suddenly flirted with complacency, enabling the Lancers to launch a late 11-1 rally although time wasn't on their side for them to complete what could have been a great escape.

They closest the Lancers could come was at 73-69 with only 15 seconds to go as Shooster Olago, who earlier went 2-of-6 from the triple, canned two free throws in the last five seconds to wrap up the match for the Warriors.

As they seek for their fourth win in five meetings against the Lancers this season, Olago again needs the support of his local comrades in Ian Tagapan, Charles Pepito, Ian Ortega, Victor Rabat, Nico Magat and William McAloney, among others.

Aside from their more mobile reinforcement, one glaring advantage of the Warriors is their three-man guard rotation in Gio Laguyo, Christian Maconocido and Kiefer Lim as compared to the Lancers who heavily depend on All-Star MVP June Kent Manzo to tend their backcourt.

With Manzo doing his part, the Lancers must squeeze the most from Akomo and Franz Arong, who needs to make up for his ice-cold showing in the opener. The likes of Joshue Segumpan, Jerome Napao, Alwin Aguirre, Rey Suerte, Vincent Mendoza and Arvie Cabanero should also step up as they go after the equalizer. (FREEMAN)