CEBU, Philippines – The Southwestern University Cobras saved their deadliest sting for last to vanquish the University of San Carlos Warriors in lethal fashion, 64-49, in the deciding match of their best-of-five finals series to clinch the collegiate basketball championship of the 14th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. season before their large throng of drum-beating and trumpet-blaring fans last night at the full-packed Cebu Coliseum.
Except for the first few seconds of the contest where they were surprised by the Warriors with a 4-0 bang, the Cobras played superb basketball and displayed nearly flawless performance on both ends of the court to turn the expected duel into a lopsided match. So dominant the Cobras were that they silenced the once boisterous Carolinian spectators clad in green and yellow shirts even with still six minutes left to play.
"The score doesn't matter to us. What matters most is that we won. I just told my boys to play hard and everything will good for us and that exactly what happened," said the celebrated Raul "Yayoy" Alcoseba moments after he snared his second title in four straight finals appearance as SWU coach. Overall, it was his fourth championship in three different schools as he earlier steered the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars and the Cebu Doctors' College (now CDU) Stallions to crowning glory when the CESAFI was still known as the CAAAC (Cebu Amateur Athletic Association) in the '90s.
Aside from playing at the best, the Cobras also caught the Warriors at their worst.
Bad omen actually surfaced on USC's threshhold with just four minutes gone by in the game when their Cameroonian top gunner Shooster Olago was slapped with his second foul. Also, they missed their first eight free throws and commited a string of unforced errors, a glaring sign of their relative inxperience in a crucial battle of such magnitude.
With Olago seated at their bench, SWU's 'King Cobra' Landry Sanjo made the most from the opportunity as he easily are up the defense of USC in scoring five straight points during a 9-0 blitz capped by Bernie Bregondo's back-to-back hits that put the Cobras on top by 11 at the end of the first quarter, 19-8.
The Cobras, hounded by turnovers and misfired shots, never recovered from there. The closest they could come was at 23-32 on a 3-pointer by Ramon Asuncion to start the third period as Sanjo and versatile playmaker Mark Jayven Tallo transformed themselves into a one-two wrecking machine that heavily damaged USC.
After the Cobras mounted a 17-point advantage, 42-25, things got even worse for the Warriors as their head coach Junthy Valenzuela was slapped with a technical foul for unsportsmanlike behavior. Valenzuela alleged that Alcoseba punched his rookie pointguard Gio Laguyo that resulted into a heated shouting match between the two sides. The tension, however, was quickly diffused by CESAFI commissioner Felix "Boy" Tiukinhoy, Jr.
Tallo sank both his charities then converted on a beatiful layup that further staggered USC with a huge 21-point deficit, 25-46.
Not even a buzzer-beating triple by Ian Bensig to end the third quarter could lift up the spirits of the Warriors as the Cobras kept their relentless offensive to post their biggest lead in seven meetings against the Cobras this season at 23 points, 60-37 on a 3-point bomb by Tallo at the final six-minute mark.
Compounding USC's woes was Ian Tagapan, who was ejected after being whistled for two consecutive unsportsmanlike fouls with only 2:24 left to play. Although they lost by only 15 points, the final tally doesn't really speak of how the Warriors were beaten to the pulp and fiercely dismantled by the “Cobras.
With only 13.6 ticks left and the Cobras already ensured of sweet success, one hardcourt drama unfolded when Alcoseba and Valenzuela, who were supposed to shake hands, engaged in another round of verbal war that was swiftly put under control by proverbial pacifists.
Defense was also a key factor as the Cobras held off Olago to only a season-low four points. With Olago a monumental bust, the entire Warriors squad also collapsed.
"Of course, it was a very big factor that we were able to contain Olago," said Alcoseba.
Sanjo finished with 20 points spiked with 13 rebounds and four steals, while Tallo, who wowed the crowd with his defensive tenacity and well-calculated plays, unloaded 19 points on top of 11 rebounds and three steals.
"It feels very great. It seems that I am floating in the clouds right now," said Tallo after sweeping the regular season and Finals MVP trophies.
For the Cobras, Valenzuela has nothing to blame other than the inexperience of his players in such championship level.
"I did not expect that my players are that inexperienced at this level of competition. That was really our problem. They could not yet handle the pressure," said Valenzuela. "But I still give due credit to them for giving their best all throughout the season." (FREEMAN)