CEBU, Philippines — The University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers rode the all-around performance of Joshua Yerro and a torrid offensive in the second half to annihilate the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons, 75-51, and stay perfect in the 18th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum yesterday.
Yerro posted a solid double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds laced with five assists and four steals as the Baby Lancers solified their hold of the juniors division lead with a 4-0 record.
Mar Leandro Actub, who is known for his high-leaping ability like Yerro, tossed in 16 markers, while reigning Juniors MVP Beirn Anthony Laurente added 12 points and five rebounds for the Baby Lancers, who were ahead by only four at halftime, 31-27.
But the Baby Lancers staged a crippling 27-15 rally in the third period, then held off their foes to only nine points while hitting 19 in the final stretch to come up with a 24-point blowout of the Dragons, who crashed to their second straight loss after a rousing 2-0 start.
Later in the day, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles nailed their first back-to-back wins of the season but had to go through a five-minute extension before slaying the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Baby Cobras, 75-69.
The Magis Eagles wasted away a 37-28 lead as the Baby Cobras whipped up a scorching 23-8 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to seize the upper hand, 51-45, with still 8:10 left in the regulation.
However, Koko Tuadles and Carlos Canoy dropped three 3-point bombs in succession that enabled the Magis Eagles to knot the count at 60-all with 2:13 to go.
The Baby Cobras could have easily turned the tide of their match had Matthew Flores and Kai Villanueva sank all their four free throws in the final 1:57 mark.
Finally, Charles Libatog sank two gift shots for a 62-60 SWU-Phinma lead, John Aguilar scored on a barelling drive down low of a nifty assist by Tuadles to forge another deadlock at 62-62 with 10.9 seconds to play.
The Baby Cobras committed a crucial error during an inbound pass resulting in to overtime.
After LA Casinillo opened the extra period with a triple, the Baby Cobras could only close in at 66-67 as Aguilar banked a pivotal trey before Canoy converted a beautiful layup down low to give the Magis Eagles a 72-66 breather with 1:38 remaining.
Tuadles topscored with 20 points, Casinillo added 14 and Canoy finished with 11 markers as the Magis Eagles evened their win-loss card to 2-2 while handing the Baby Cobras their fourth setback in five matches.