UV dodges UC bullet to go 3-0 in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines - The University of the Visayas Green Lancers kept their unbeaten record intact but not without passing through a major scare before eking out a scrappy 80-74 win in overtime against the stubborn University of Cebu Webmasters in the 16th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. men's basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

Dumaguteño sharpshooter Tristan Albina netted 19 points, including three crucial treys that gave the Lancers a new lease on life when it mattered most.

Cameroonian Bassieru Sackour finished with 18 points and team captain Josue Segumpan added 11 as the Lancers zoomed to the solo lead with an immaculate 3-0 slate.

It was a sorry loss for the Webmasters, who led by as much as 13 points, 53-40, late in the third period.

Still up at 56-63 with less three minutes left in the regulation period, the Webmasters could have blown the game apart after they were awarded with three free throws plus ball possession after UV coach Gary Cortes was slapped with a technical foul on a penalty situation.

The Webmasters, however, misfired all their gift shots and were later slapped by a 24-second shotclock violation that further spelled their doom.

The Lancers capitalized on the opportunity to turn things around in their favor. Two 3-pointers in succession by Albina sandwiching four straight freebies by Segumpan put the Lancers on top, 68-65, with eight seconds to go.

The Lancers' celebration, however, was shortlived after Felvinson Culango darted a triple to knot the count at 68-all with 1.5 seconds left, thus, the extension.

In the extra period, the Webmasters seemed to have run out of gas and could only forged a 70-all deadlock as Sackour, Albina and Segumpan conspired in a 10-4 punch to wrap things up for the Lancers.

Joven Tagudin fired seven triples of his game-high 24 points but his efforts went for naught as the Webmasters crashed to their second straight loss.

In the juniors division play, Gelmart Umpad of the UC Junior Webmasters may be the smallest man on the floor but literally stood the biggest of them all in terms of fighting heart.

   The spunky 4-foot-11 playmaker from Medellin town north of Cebu churned out 18 points laced with a record 12 steals, four rebounds and two assists to power the UC bantams to a 77-60 rout of the Southwestern University Baby Cobras.

Yannick Enriquez chipped in 18 points, while John Bryl Cuyos and Jumike Casera each scored 10 for the Junior Webmasters, who earned a share of lead with two-time defending champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles and Don Bosco Greywolves on identical 2-0 slates.

So explosive the Junior Webmasters were that they never looked back after racing to a 20-6 start on the way to a 17-point shellacking of the erratic Baby Cobras.

Earlier, the University of San Jose-Recoletos Baby Jaguars  barged into the win column at the expense of te University of San Carlos Baby Warriors, 62-58. (FREEMAN)