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Monday, October 11, 2004
Punching incident mars USJ-R victory over USP
By JADE S. VIOLETA
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
UNIVERSITY of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) may have won the battle but the University of Southern Philippines hasn’t yet lost the war in the race for a College championship berth as the Panthers put under protest the Jaguars’ 70-68 victory yesterday in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) basketball semifinals at the University of San Carlos Gym.
This as three-time defending champion University of the Visayas Green Lancers formalized their claim of the first finals slot after barely escaping from the hard-fighting University of Cebu Webmasters, 77-76.
While in the high-school games, the Don Bosco Technological Center Greywolves continued their amazing rise after securing a seat in the finals. The Greywolves, who upset top-seed University of Cebu Baby Webmasters on Saturday, trounced yesterday No.3 team USC Baby Warriors, 73-55, to barge into the championship round.
The Bosconians will meet UV in the finals after the Baby Green Lancers slipped past UC, 61-60, in the opening game.
Panthers coach Raul Latonio put under protest Jaguars’ coach Jun Tan’s victory after USJ-R’s Ariel Lozano sneaked a punch to the midrib of USP’s Randy Colonia, knocking down the 6-foot-2 center-forward from Consolacion to the floor.
However, no one among the three match referees saw the incident as it happened away from the ball.
Luckily for the Panthers, Lozano, a 6-4 center from Zamboanga City, threw his punch in front of the table officials and was witnessed by Cesafi deputy commissioner Nene Palmares.
After a brief huddle among the referees and league officials, the table announced that Lozano would be ejected from the game. But Jaguars coach Jun Tan argued that the referees didn’t call any foul, so there was no reason to throw out Lozano.
When the officials insisted on ejecting Lozano, Tan summoned his players to lead a walkout, which was averted when Palmares, Cesafi technical chief Danny Duran and the referees decided to allow Lozano to stay in the game.
According to Palmares, the decision was for the sake of the paying public, who may feel cheated in the event of a walkout. Palmares said he will stand as witness when the Cesafi board makes an investigation before it makes a decision.
“In such situation, the Cesafi board should decide exclude the scores of Lozano during the game and then ban him from playing in the Cesafi,” Latonio said.
Should the Cesafi board decide to deduct Lozano’s points from USJ-R’s total score, the Panthers will automatically march into the finals versus the Green Lancers as the Jaguars were only able to win by two points, while Lozano contributed six points.
Meanwhile, the Green Lancers almost tasted their first loss in the league had the Webmasters’ Allain Abellanosa’s 3-pointer in the dying seconds not bounced out of the ring.
With only 40 seconds left in the game, the Webmasters moved within two points from UV, 73-75, before Ronald Joseph Quiñahan gave the Green Lancers a 77-73 breather in the next play.
But the boys of UC coach Roehl Gomez weren’t through yet as Ozamis City-native Orville Saludsod banged in a booming trey in the return play with still 15 ticks to go.
Gomez instructed his boys to foul on the next possession of the Green Lancers and it was UV’s Mark Ababon who was sent to the free throw line.
Ababon, however, missed both charities and the Webmasters scrambled for the rebound and the leather fell into Abellanosa’s hands, who made a desperate running three-point jumper with two seconds to go but missed.
(Juniors) DBTC (73) – Perez 14, Sumalinog 14, Garcia 12, Cañada 10, Tecson 9, Timbal 6, Acha 4, Tan 2, Duran 2. USC (55) – Flanco 14, Bercede 12, Arriesgado 7, Palos 6, Alforque 4, Gallardo 4, Mercado 3, Singco 3, Fe 2.
(Seniors) USJ-R (70) – Justiniani 20, Saladaga 18, Arpay 8, Malinao 7, Lozano 6, Murillo 5, Arellano 4, Gabas 2. USP (68) – Pendang 19, Gloria 11, Sereño 11, Demape 8, Labares 5, Mercader 4, Bartolabac 4, Travero 3, Latonio 3.
(Seniors) UV (77) – Ababon 17, Quiñahan 16, Rodriguez 10, Sevilla 8, Akad 6, Mepaña 3, Abelong 3, Berame 2. UC (76) – Ortigueza 23, Saludsod 21, Abellanosa 13, Ducay 12, Tangarorang 3, Abatayo 2, Sesante 2.
(October 11, 2004 issue)
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