SRCDC Greyhounds make rousing debut in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines — The San Roque College de Cebu (SRCDC) Greyhounds made their debut in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. a memorable one, staging a great comeback from 21 points down to beat fellow league newcomer PAREF Springdale Titans, 62-59, in the opening match of CESAFI Season 26 basketball tournament on Saturday, August 29, at the Cebu Coliseum.

Just when everybody thought it’s going to be a lopsided match after the Titans established a commanding 40-19 lead with just 16 seconds gone by in the second period, the Greyhounds flipped the script with a daring fightback that saw them knotting the count at 45-all at the end of the third quarter.

The Titans were still ahead by five, 50-45, in the final 7:30 mark but John Raven Dumanhug, Vonn Peter Zamora, and Jello Oñot masterminded an 8-0 blitz to push the Greyhounds on top by three, 53-50, with only 2:24 left to play.

The Titans regained the upper hand, 56-55, but Anthony Ross Luche scored on a five-point swing before Haiden Andales sank two crucial free throws in the last 10 seconds to help the Greyhounds get off to a good start in Cebu’s premier inter-school athletic league.

“Excited mi nga nakulbaan kay this is our first time to play in CESAFI and ako mga player mga bata pa pag-o pa mi naka bonding-bonding, naka-teamwork sa pagduwa namo. Unya ang amoa lang na naka-adjust sa second, third and fourth (quarter),” said Greyhounds coach Jeff Codera.

Luche shined the brightest for the Greyhounds with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Oñot also posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds with one assist and two blocks, while Dumanhug chipped in 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.

Anton Lorenzo Gratones led the Titans with a solid 25-point, 21-rebounds double-double show. He also had seven assists and three steals while Riche Sarmiento II finished with 19 points, two rebounds, three assists, and three steals but their efforts went down the drain.

In the college division, the debuting University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) received a rude welcome from the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers, 76-81.

Peter John Peteros fired 22 points with four rebounds, one assist and two steals while Lloyd Amadeo Gutang bagged 17 points with six rebounds and a steal for the Panthers, who recovered from an 11-point deficit in the first quarter with savvy to turn back UCLM.

Lybron James Lamo and Glenn Armand Contado added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Panthers.

Kyle Vincent de la Torre cashed in 15 points and six rebounds, Dan Mitchell Ferraren tallied 14 markers while Cyrus Andrei Ubayubay and Marty Louisse Sotto scored 12 points each in a losing cause for UCLM.