Jaguars dodge Panthers bullet

CEBU, Philippines — The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars grinded out an 84-81 victory over the hard-fighting University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers in a down-the-wire showdown of unbeaten teams in the 2nd Asia-Pacific University Games (APUG) basketball event at the Cebu Coliseum yesterday.

NJ Ubale tossed in 13 of his topscoring 24 points in the final half, most notable of his game-long brilliance was his third quarter explosion that set the stage for USJ-R's spirited comeback after a lackadaisical start.

Tricky Dyn Peromingan chipped in 17 markers, while RJ Dinolan and reigning CESAFI Most Valuable Player Jaybie Mantilla connived for 24 points as the Jaguars grabbed the solo lead with a clean 3-0 slate. They need only to win against the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors at 6:30 p.m. tonight to seal a championship spot in the week-long tilt participated in by collegiate ballclubs from China and Malaysia.

The Panthers actually got off to a lightning 12-3 start. Though the Jaguars briefly seized the upperhand, 16-15, they quickly regained their bearing to restore a 25-21 edge after the first period.

Still in control, the Panthers upped their lead to 38-30 but the Jaguars kept chasing in with vigor to pull within just a hairline at halftime, 43-44.

The Panthers were in command for the last time at 54-59 as Ubalde churned out eight points in a 14-2 blitz that towed the Jaguars on top by seven for good, 63-56, going into fourth period.

The Jaguars sustained their momentum to blow up their lead to 13 points, 73-60, on a 3-pointer by Peromingan at the final five-minute mark of the contest.

Roy Quiachon, however, keep USPF's head above the water, rolling down nine straight points as the Panthers seriously threatened at 81-84 with only 12.6 seconds left to play.

After a solid defensive stop by Quiachon that forced Mantilla to throw the leather out of bounds with 5.4 seconds remaining in the gameclock, the Panthers had one last shot at forging an overtime but blew their chances as Ubalde made a crucial steal to seal the deal for the Jaguars. (FREEMAN)