CEBU CITY—The University of San Carlos Warriors proved they really are the team to beat in the 15th season of Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. basketball tournament as they trounced the hapless University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars, 90-75, Thursday at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Warriors, who barely escaped with a win against the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildcats last Aug. 18, came up with a sizzling start as they established a big 20-point lead at the end of the 1st quarter, 32-12, led by Cameroonian import Shooster Olago and local boy Ian Jefferson Tagapan.
Their momentum continued until halftime as they led 22 points, 49-27.
In the third quarter, the Jaguars tried to inch closer behind the efforts of sophomore player Ralph Jude Dinolan and rookie Jaybie Mantilla as they closed gap to 13 in the middle of the quarter.
But things got a bit frisky as the scramble for a loose ball by both teams almost led to a bench-clearing scuffle as cooler heads entered to try and separate and pacify the players.
When the smoke cleared, USJ-R’s Ferdinand Risma and Kent Moral were both ejected for entering the court prematurely.
The Warriors then began to restore order as the lead grew to 16 at the end of the third period, 67-51, and they never looked back as USC’s Charles Pepito and last year’s CESAFI Mythical Five member Victor Rabat took over the Warriors’ offense and kept the momentum until the final buzzer.
Pepito was named “Best Player of the Game” by Viva Sports TV panelists Rico Navarro and Sandi Grumo following his double-double performance of 17 points, 13 rebounds and one block. Olago had his usual stellar performance with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Rabat added 16 points for the unbeaten Warriors, who have a 4-0 card.
Dinolan led USJ-R with 19 points and 4 rebounds before sustaining a leg injury in the fourth, while Mantilla and Mark Labares combined for 35 for the Jaguars, who suffered their fourth defeat in five outings.