Red-hot Cobras shoot for win No.4 in CESAFI hoop

CEBU, Philippines - The Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras hope to extend their winning streak to four games in a row when they battle the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters today in the 13th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.

The SWU-UC duel is set at 6:45 pm, right after the juniors division match between the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildkittens and the listless Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) Greywolves at 5 pm.

Fresh from a 70-66 conquest of their bitter rivals University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers, the Cobras of legendary coach Raul "Yayoy" D. Alcoseba are without doubt the solid favorites over the struggling Webmasters who are still winless in two starts.

The Cobras have all the reasons to defeat the Webmasters, one of the four teams who are without foreign reinforcements.

The Cobras have a powerhouse roster and they have all the arsenals they need to win in a hardcourt battle.               SWU's Cameroonian twin towers Fabrice Siewe and Landry Sanjou are on call for tonight's game but they may not get ample playing time because their locals are capable of putting up a good fight against the Webmasters.

Led by crafty playmaker Mark Jayven Tallo and the vaunted streak-shooter Monbert Arong, the Cobras can also rely on the likes of of Bernie Bregondo, Daryl Goloran, Adams Mohammed, Jabe Bautista, Carlo Ortega and Mark Panerio.

The Webmasters, for their part, will squeezed the most from Arvin Kim Gomez, Noel Villanueva, Jan Michael Auditor, Junas Misa, and rookie players Edward Espiritu and Johnny Sigasig.

Meanwhile, the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors chalked up their first win of the season, but not without passing through a scare before eking out a 73-68 decision over the CIT-U Wildcats.

Ahmed Salihou paced USC with 15 points followed by Stephen Que with a dozen markers. Flloyd Taboada had a game-high 25 points but his efforts went futile as CIT-U suffered its third loss against only one victory.

The scores

USC (73) - Salihou 15, Que 12, Ortega 10, Plata 9, Magat 7, Rabat 7, Seno 6, Laude 5, Amin 2

CIT-U (68) - Taboada 25, Batiquin 13, Dela Cerna 12, Menguito 6, Graf 5, Undaloc 3, Tabalin 2, Brigoli 2             Halftime: 34-33 (FREEMAN)