Gallant Baby Warriors hand Dragons first loss in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines - The University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors personified fortitude and indomitable fighting spirit in rallying from 15 points down to stun the previously undefeated Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons,77-69, in the juniors division of the 13th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

"Defense was the key," said USC coach Britt Carlo Reroma. "But I would also like to commend my boys for playing with their hearts out."

Flashy playmaker Ian de la Cruz may be the smallest man on the floor but had the biggest fighting heart of them all, topscoring for the Baby Warriors with 15 points spiked with two meaningful 3-pointers, the first a buzzer-beater that gave USC a two-point headway going into the final quarter and the last turned out to be the game-killer for the Dragons.

The Baby Warriors also drew several other heroes in the likes of Jed Baltazar, Kervin Villagracia, John Galinato and Kent Suelto as they valiantly overhauled a huge 24-39 deficit in the second period on the way to slaying the Dragons, who couldn't sustain their momentum after thrashing the Don Bosco Greywolves and the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers by at least 20 points in their first two assignments.

Baltazar and Villagracia churned out 14 points apiece, while Galinato and Suelto each finished with 10 markers for the Baby Warriors, who used an impenetrable full-court trapping defense in the third canto to extinguish the once scorching offensive of the Dragons.

While CEC's offensive engine conked out, the Baby Warriors capitalized on the opportunity by staging a 21-6 rally to tie the count at 45-all before they eventually seizzed the upperhand, 50-48, on De la Cruz's triple.

After the Baby Warriors made it 54-52, the Dragons came back to life, retaliating with an 8-0 blast to regain a six-point edge, 60-54, on John Pagalan's basket at the final seven-minute mark of the contest.

The Dragons held on to lead for the last time at 62-57 as the Baby Warriors countered with an 8-0 spurt to wrest back the driver's seat, 65-62, with four minutes to go.

The Dragons actually knotted the count at 65-all, but De la Cruz and Suelto shattered their comeback hopes. De la Cruz knocked in a crisp triple, while Suelto hit five points including a 3-point play capping a 10-1 run that sealed the deal for the Baby Warriors, 75-66, with only 59 seconds remaining.

Mark Roa had a game-high 18 points, but was limited to only four in the final half when his services were needed most by the Dragons. Shawn Christopher Tan and Salac turned in 12 points each but their efforts went for naught as they fell to 2-1 in a tie with the Baby Warriors. (FREEMAN)