CEBU, Philippines - With their finals bid stalled due to the heavy downpour that caused flooding all over Metro Cebu last Thursday, the Southwestern University Cobras shoot for the remaining finals berth as they square off against the unpredictable University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars in the 14th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament today bat the Cebu Coliseum.
From the original two-game schedule, there will be three matches this afternoon, with the insertion of the quarterfinal duel betwen the No. 2 seed University of the Visayas Baby Lancers and the seventh-ranked USJ-R Baby Jaguars.
The Cobras are poised to barge into the finals for the third straight year, more so that they enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage over the Jaguars.
Southwestern University will once again be led by Landry Sanjo and Bendley Valdor. They will be backed up by a slew of local stars in Mark Jayven Tallo, Jasper Parker, Anton Tomas Pardo, Melvin Holper and bigmen Daryl Goloran and Bernie Bregondo.
The Jaguars, on the other hand, will rely on their sole import in Quentin Luzoladio, who is better off in defense than in offense. He badly needs the support of James Regalado, hardworking inside operator Kevin Villafranca and spitfire Mark Labares. They can also count on Renzo Theodre Sening, Raymond Catipay, Iron Suano, Fletcher Galvez, Kyle Lajato and Nelvin Navarra for them to live and fight for another day.
Earlier in the day, the third-ranked University of San Carlos Baby Warriors will shoot for an outright semifinal slot when they go up against the sixth seed University of Southern Philippines Baby Panthers in the juniors division. (FREEMAN)