Saturday, March 10, 2007 UC barges into quarterfinals
THE Metro Gaisano-University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters nipped their archrivals Hapee-University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 74-69, Thursday at the Cebu Coliseum, to snare the second spot at the end of the elimination round of the Partners Cup basketball tournament.
The Webmasters actually tied the Virginia-University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) at the top spot with their identical 6-1 win-loss records. But by virtue of the winner-over-the-other rule, the Webmasters were relegated to second place as they lost to the Jaguars in the elimination round.
However, UC will still be enjoying a twice to beat advantage going into quarterfinal round, which starts tomorrow, where they will pitted against Arthro-Don Bosco College, the seventh placer in the eight-team draw.
The Webmasters jumped off to an early 10-point lead in the opening frame, courtesy of surprise attackers Marvin Ceniza and Airland Tulda, who helped UC manage to maintain a wide margin going into the final half.
The Warriors refused to buckle down without giving a fight, as they narrowed the gap down to five points, 55-60, behind crafty point guard Niño Ramirez, who provided the needed spurt for USC.
The next episode saw a fiery exchange of baskets, with UC’s offensive thrust being led by Allain Abellanosa, who sank 12 of his 15 markers in the final period.
The Warriors, though, were the first to blink, as their one-man scoring machine, Ramirez, cannot keep up with UC’s barrage of points.
USC saw a tiny glint of hope later in the remaining seconds when Carlo Padayao sank a triple that allowed USC to take the momentum.
But Ramirez bungled two crucial free throws that would have tied the game and changed the scenario.
Junmar Fajardo topped the UC scorers with 19, while Ramirez scored a game-high 29 markers for USC’s losing cause.
Hapee-USC, which settled at fourth place, will battle the Skygo-Southwestern University Cobras in the next round.
