THE University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers took a piece of the college division leadership after a one-sided 87-59 win over Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Cobras in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation (Cesafi) Partner’s Cup yesterday in the Cebu Coliseum.
It was close at the onset with UV taking a one-point, 13-12, lead after 10 minutes of action, but in the second quarter, the Green Lancers found their groove and outscored the Cobras, 27-15, with a balanced offense that was anchored on former MVP Rey Suerte, who scored six points in that period.
UV started the second half with a 9-2 rally sparked by towering center Lassina Coulibaly and point guard Sheldon Gahi. UV finished the third quarter with a 21-point cushion, 62-41, after a nifty layup by Jim Paul Amistoso against two SWU defenders just a few seconds before the buzzer.
It was all UV in the fourth quarter, and Coach Gary Cortes started to field UV’s bench players.
Gahi led UV’s balanced scoring with 14 points, while Coulibaly added 12. Shaq Imperial was the only SWU player in double figures with 19 markers.
UV is now tied with University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters at the top of the college division with identical 3-0 records.
UV was also picked up a win in the high school division, outclassing Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons, 91-62.
Joshua Yerro led UV with 19 points, while Ivan Ares had a game high 22 markers for CEC.
The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars got their second win of the preseason with an 89-81 victory over Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wild Kittens in the other high school game.
The duo of Niño Paras and Kendrick Abarquez spearheaded USJ-R’s offense with 16 points each. (EKA)