CEBU, Philippines – Cameroonian banger Shooster Olago dished out another monster double-double show and drawing still huge support from the rest of his teammates, a fired-up University of San Carlos Warriors sailed on smoothly to an 82-72 shellacking of the University of Sto. Tomas Growling Tigers to advance into the Final Four of the 2015 PCCL National Collegiate Championship yesterday at The Arena in San Juan City.
Olago unloaded 20 points on top of 13 rebounds for the reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) champions, who moved just two games away from pocketing the P1 million bounty and the bragging rights as the best collegiate ballclub in the land.
As they marched toward the zenith of glory though, the road becomes tougher and more treacherous for the Warriors as they slug it out with UAAP crown-holders Far Eastern University Tamaraws in a surefire blockbuster showdown of champions from two of the country's best inter-school cage leagues this afternoon.
Obviously playing with high confidence level buoyed by their nerve-wracking 73-72 conquest of the National University Bulldogs the other day, the Warriors of interim coach Bong Abad gamely wiped out an early 11-18 deficit, then turned to a third-quarter explosion to change the course of the match in their favor before eventually knocking out the Tigers with a solid endgame punch.
After a brief exchange of leads that saw the Cebuano visitors on top by five, 42-37, early in the third quarter, the Tigers showed some poise as they regained the upperhand, 45-43, on an eight-point swing by Kent Lao, but that was the best they could muster as the Warriors countered with a searing 13-2 run to grab the lead back, 56-47 for good.
The closest the Tigers could come was at 59-64 as Olago, asserting his dominance at the paint with authority, pumped in nine points in a 13-2 splurge that virtually put the victory in the palm of Warriors' hands with an imposing 15-point bulge, 78-63, at the final 2:10 mark of the contest.
Aside from Olago, the likes of Ian Tagapan, Ian Ortega, Charles Pepito, Christian Maconido and Gio Laguyo also deserved special mention as the Warriors completely outfoxed and outclassed the Tigers in the final half not only on the offensive end, 49-38, but also in rebounding and fast-break points to underscore their well-oiled transition play.
The Warriors hope to slay another giant as they tackle the Tamaraws at 4 p.m. today, with the victor setting up a sudden-death championship against the winner of the rematch of this year's NCAA finals between the Letran Knights and San Beda Red Lions at 2 p.m. (FREEMAN)