Sunday, November 18, 2007 Slaughtermania hits Champions League
IN CEBU, the dazzle that is 6-foot-11 rookie Fil-Am center Gregory Slaughter has started to die down, but his fame seemed to have reached the Collegiate Champions League.
And Slaughter did not disappoint those who came to see him play as the University of the Visayas Green Lancers edged their way to a national title after moving to the Round-of-8 in the Collegiate Champions League yesterday at the San Juan Arena.
This, after the seven-time champion of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, clobbered the Lyceum University Pirates, 101-80, marking a positive start for the Green Lancers who have been thirsting for a national title for years.
The Green Lancers booked a quarterfinal outing with University of Mindanao still at the same venue tomorrow.
The Lancers were scrambling in the early parts of the game and trailed Lyceum, 15-6, halfway into the first period.
Ritchum Dennison’s triple and Ariel Mepaña’s jumper sliced the lead , but Lyceum was still ahead as it converted every ball possession it had. With still two minutes to go in the first, Lyceum was still leading 19-15.
In came Slaughter and instantly, the game changed color.
With Slaughter walling the post, the Pirates got hesitant as the behemoth blocked several of Lyceum’s attempts to keep them locked at 19 as UV took a 21-19 lead.
The Pirates retaliated in the second period and outscored the Lancers, 21-15, to snatch the lead, 40-37, going into the final half.
The halftime break gave the Lancers a chance to regroup and they sizzled to score a whooping 35 markers in the penultimate quarter to silence the Pirates for good.
The Lancers, however, did not stop there. Despite leading 52-61, they still managed to scatter 29 points against Lyceum’s 20 to hammer the final nail on Lyceum’s coffin and send them packing.
Five Lancers paced the team after scoring in double digits. Leading the UV scorers was guard Ritchum Dennison, who dispersed 19 points, while pivotman Rino Berami added 16.
Von Lañete and Ariel Mepaña added 14 markers each, while Chris Diputado contributed 12.
Slaughter scored just eight points, but his menacing presence was enough to shake the confidence out of their opponents.
“If luck is on our side and we win against UM, we will face either Jose Rizal University or Far Eastern University in the next round,” said UV head coach Elmer “Boy” Cabahug.
UV’s chances for the title just got stronger following the pullout of De La Salle University from the competition. (MCB)
