USPF prolongs UP Cebu’s agony

CEBU, Philippines — The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers prolonged the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu’s misery with a 75-48 rout of the Fighting Maroons in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Season 24 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday night, November 13, at the Cebu Coliseum.

Peter John Peteros shot 10-of-17 from the field including a pair of 3-pointers en route to a 22-point haul laced with nine rebounds, one assist, and two steals as the Panthers notched their third win in seven games.

No other USPF cager cashed in double figures but the Panthers used a balanced offensive attack to dominate the Fighting Maroons, surging ahead by as much as 30 points, 71-41, late in the lopsided contest.

In a very anemic performance, UP Cebu’s topscorers JZ Dizon and AJ de los Reyes posted six points only resulting to the Fighting Maroons’ tumbling to their sixth straight loss after a victorious start.

In high school division, the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Baby Wildcats kept their flickering Final Four hopes alive after taming the USPF Baby Panthers, 53-50, in come-from-behind fashion.

Cyrus Joeff Abadies finished with 10 points, three rebounds and a steal, while Kent Noguerra, Kieff Russel Suarez and Christian Joseph Bustillo connived for 26 points, 17 rebounds, 12 steals, and three assists as the Baby Wildcats improved to 6-4 to stay in the tight semifinal race.

The Baby Panthers, on the other hand, fell to 4-5 and are already out of contention.