Lancers tame Cobras anew, Forge rubbermatch in best-of-five CESAFI basketball finals

CEBU, Philippines - The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers banked on a nearly flawless outside shooting and a fantastic showing by star playmaker John Abad, then quelled a spirited endgame resistance by Southwestern University (SWU) to hand the Cobras their second straight defeat of the season, 71-66, and more importantly send the best-of-five finals series into its full route in the 13th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament before a full-packed Cebu Coliseum last night.

"As I've said, the series is not yet over and I am happy that we are able to tie it (2-2)," said a jubilant UV head coach Felix "Donbel" Belano, Jr. "We fought until the end and as if there's no tomorrow. It's the heart, defense and above all our faith in God that carried us to the crucial win."

Abad maybe the smallest man on the floor but stood the tallest and the proudest after the grueling 40-minute skirmish with his 24-point explosion spiked with a 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point land and the insurance free throws that kept the Lancers' bid of completing a historic comeback from a 0-2 series deficit alive. No team has ever dig out of that deep hole since the league's inception in 2000.

UV's hardworking Cameroonian recruit Mike Harry Nzeusseu was held off to only eight points, but it hardly mattered as Wowie Escocio finally came out of his shell and delivered an MVP-like performance finishing with 14 points on a splendid 7-of-9 sniping from the field.

Inspired by their morale-boosting 89-82 double overtime victory in Game 3 that ended their five-game jinx to their bitter rivals, the Lancers played with high level of condifence and immediately jumped the gun on the Cobras by hitting a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc in the first quarter that powered them to an early 25-11 lead.

The Cobras tried to close the gap with just a minute gone by in the second canto, but UV quickly doused cold water on their comeback hopes as Chris Perolino buried a trey then Abad churned out six straight points as the Lancers established a huge 39-23 lead, although the largest stood at 18 points, 49-31, with still 7:45 remaining in the third. The Cobras, however, fought back with savvy to cut the deficit down to a single digit, 49-57, going into the final 10-minute mark of the contest.

Again, the two sides figured in a heart-stopping duel, but the Lancers proved to be the hungrier and more determined squad in the end. The best the  Cobras could muster was at 66-69 with 50 seconds to go as a horrible free-throw shooting scuttled their hopes of turning the tables on the gallant Lancers.

Southwestern U actually could have even pulled closer, but Mohammed Adam, with his knees trembling and hand shaking, just threw off a pair of pressure-packed charities with 48 ticks left in the gameclock. Prior to that, Monbert Arong also flubbed two crucial attempts from the foul line, where the Cobras performed miserably converting only 12 out of 28 attempts.

The Cobras fumbled their last chance to pull a great escape after Mark Jayven Tallo, who limped out of the court twice due to leg cramps, committed a costly error on an inbound pass that was intercepted by Abad. It was a sorry ending for what had been a spectacular game by Tallo, who practically carried SWU on his shoulders on the way to a season-best 28 points.

After being fouled following that huge  steal, Abad cooly sank his twin gift shots with 18 seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Lancers, who came up with another epic triumph that somehow spotlighted the Lancers' colorful past that made them nine-time CESAFI championships.

 Southwestern U's Cameroonian banger Landry Sanjo netted 17 hard-earned points as he was obviously grounded by UV's stifling defense that also left only five SWU players to hit the scoring chart.

Except for Daryl Goloran who came through with a dozen markers, the rest of the Cobras failed to deliver when it mattered most - something that they have to ponder going into the knockout Game 5 scheduled at 4 pm tomorrow. (FREEMAN)