Warriors survive Cobras to stay perfect in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines - The University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors overcame a spirited resistance by the Southwestern University-Phinma (SWU) Cobras all game long to eke out a spine-chilling 56-55 decision and stay unbeaten in the 17th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Lucky Ecarma scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the first half as the Warriors moved a win shy from completing a six-game sweep in the first round of elimination, a rousing start they previously done two years ago in a historic campaign that led USC to its first ever major basketball title in 57 years.   

Their fifth win of the season wansn't served on a silver platter though. They earned it the hard way against the stubborn Cobras, who were poised to pull an upset after gaining a 53-50 headway on Gerald Fernandez's basket at the final 2:09 mark of the contest.

Back-to-back hits by Julius Cadavis and Victor Rabat, however, quickly put the Warriors back on top, 54-53.

From there, the Cobras could only forge a 54-all tie on a free throw by William Polican as John Saycon bulldozed his way to nail a crucial shot down low to push the Warriors ahead, 56-54, with 59 seconds left to play.

The Cobras had a chance to square the count but Shad Imperial only split his charities, 44 seconds to go. It was Southwestern U's 16th missed free throw of the night that further spelled their doom.

After an airball by USC's Kent Cabañog in what appeared to be a wild finish, the Cobras blew their chances of stealing the match after Arnel Molina's medium-range jumper did not even touch the rim as the gameclock expired.

In the juniors level, the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildkittens banked on the hot-shooting hands of Jay-R Ancit as they gamely overhauled an early 12-point deficit to stun the University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors, 72-68, for their first ever win.

Ancit sparkled with 21 points capped by the go-ahead triple with 27 seconds left to play that helped the Wildkittens snap out for their four-game jinx.

Trailing 19-31 with 6:34 into halftime, the Wildkittens slowly but surely crept back to pull within just three points at the end of the third quarter, 53-56.

Gaining momentum out of their courageous fightback, the Wildkittens greeted the final perid with an 11-7 blitz to seize a six-point lead, 64-58, on Ancit's triple, with 6:16 left to play.

The Baby Warriors, however, countered with a 10-8 run sealed by Mark Dumandan's four straight points to regain the upperhand, 68-66, with 53 seconds to go.

That proved to be the Baby Warriors' last bright moment as Ancit sank a booming 3-pointer on the left wing to give the Wildkittens a razon-thin 69-68 lead with only 27 ticks remaining.

After failing to make one good offensive, the Baby Warriors quickly fouled Jopeph Hermosa, who then calmly knocked in his charities for a 71-68 CIT-U edge with 13 seconds left.

The Baby Warriors stumbled in their attempt to at least send the game into overtime as Johndel Branzuela threw an ill-advised trey that did not even hit the hoop.  (FREEMAN)