Monday, January 28, 2008 Jaguars battle Cobras for La Fortuna Cup title
THE University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars and the Southwestern University Cobras booked slots to the final round of the second Hotel Fortuna Cup after finishing first and second in the elimination round last Saturday at the Talisay City Sports Complex.
Both teams punctuated their elimination round bids with emphatic victories over separate opponents in Talisay.
The USJ-R squad kept a steady hold of the top spot after winning all of their matches, ending their elimination round with a 98-86 win over the Asian College of Technology Cyber Knights to pluck the first slot to the finals with a 4-0 win-loss record.
The SWU Cobras, on the other hand, advanced to the title round after trouncing the hapless Salazar Institute of Technology Skyblazers, 102-77, to take the second place with a 3-1 ledger.
The top two teams will battle it out in the do-or-die title round, which stakes P15,000 for the winning team.
In the game, after holding on to precarious leads in the first period, the Jaguars initiated a blazing 15-0 run in the second period to enjoy a 22-point lead going into the final half. Nothing was stopping the Jaguars as they toyed with their opponents until the final buzzer sounded.
Leaders
Luther Justiniani led the Jaguars’ assault with 21 points, while Randy Pogoy and Lyndon Gudez were the other two players scoring in double digits with 16 and 15, respectively.
In the other game between SWU and ACT, SWU’s Eluid Poligrates, who used to be the one frequently reprimanded for his theatrics on court that usually cost the team their victory, showed a different side and lifted the team to win.
Poligrates scored 27 markers for the team. His presence became more apparent in the final stretch when he initiated the 23-5 run, which eventually sealed the deal for the Cobras.
Eleazar Armecin added 16 points, while Richard Gianchand and Mariano Canonigo scattered 11 each.
All however is not lost for ACT as it managed to arrange a ticket to the battle for third place against the University of San Carlos. The final round is set on Feb. 1 at a still to be determined venue.
