High 5 for SWU Cobras; Lucky 7 for SHS-Ateneo’

Games today

(Cebu Coliseum)

1 pm UV vs. DBTC (jrs.)

2:245 pm USJ-R vs. USPF (jrs.)

4:30 pm UC vs. USC (jrs.)

6:15 pm UV vs. USC (srs.)

CEBU, Philippines - Defending champions Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles shackled separate foes to keep their undefeated records intact in the 13th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Cobras slithered to their fifth straight victory via a 79-58 blowout of the University of San-Jose Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, while the Magis Eagles made it a perfect seven after crushing the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons, 79-69.

Cameroonian skyscraper Landry Sanjou torched a game-high 22 points for the Cobras, who did not give the Jaguars any breathing after taking a 38-29 halftime lead, which they parlayed into an 18-point advantage anchored on a 6-0 blitz to start the fourth period.

Flashy playmaker Mark Jayven Tallo banged in 14 markers including six straight that virtually sealed the deal for the Cobras, 69-50, at the final five-minute mark of the contest although their biggest lead stood at 21 points that turned out to be the final outcome.

The Parker brothers Matthew and Christian connived for 20 points, but the missing link was Rendell Senining who was handcuffed to only two points as the Jaguars fell to 2-2.

Earlier, the Magis Eagles suffered a huge offensive meltdown in the windup but they had already piled up an avalanche of points enough to quell any magical comeback by the Dragons.

After racing to a impressive 19-5 start, the Magis Eagles kept the Dragons at bay and led by as much as 30 points, 61-31, on six straight points by wingman Popoy Navarro with still 2:45 left in the third period.

From that moment onwards, there wasn't any doubt that the Magis Eagles would emerge the victor. The thing of beauty for the Dragons was their never-say-die spirit as they bravely fought on until they trimmed the huge deficit down to a single digit and eventually lost by just 10 points.

Jair Igna exploded with 27 points, while Arnie Padilla and Felixberto Jaboneta, Jr. scattered 15 and 11 markers, respectively, for the Magis Eagles, whose back-to-back title campaign has not yet faced a major threat from any of their juniors division rivals. And the fact that they were able to turn an expected close battle against the Dragons into a lopsided match still proved they are still a dominant force this season.

The sweet-shooting Shawn Christopher Tan topscored with 22 points for the Dragons. Mrac Obado and Earl John Ibot each scored a dozen markers for their efforts went for naught as they suffered their second loss in six starts. (FREEMAN)