Friday, July 11, 2008 UL shames Lancers By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE University of Luzon Golden Tigers may no longer have a chance to make it to at least the top three in the 6th Asian Universities Basketball Championship but the team from Dagupan City made their long trip to Cebu worthwhile when they left a deep imprint on the Cebuanos as they handed Cebu’s top collegiate team the University of the Visayas Green Lancers a telling blow that could possibly change the outcome of the league.
The Golden Tigers proved that as long as the clock is ticking there is still a chance as they won by a fortuitous buzzer beating triple, 82-81, in extra time Wednesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
Spoiling UV’s easy entry to the title round was Rodolfo Natavio.
Down by two points, 79-81, with just 0.2 seconds left, Natavio really had very few choices. But with nothing to lose as the outcome of the game does not have any effect on them, Natavio took his time to step behind the arc and decided to fire an uncertain three-pointer from the left flank against two UV defenders for the winning shot.
UV had been touted to lord it over the competition as they swept their first three games, even defeating foreign teams from China and South Korea.
However, with the result, UV’s chances is now uncertain. It needs to win in its last game today against Southwestern University in order to secure the second spot and face the winner between South Korea and China in the finals. If UV loses to SWU, which had in fact defeated them before, it will figure in a three-way tie with SWU and the loser of the China vs. Korea game, which was being played at press time.
In this case, the quotient system will be applied.
The top two teams will be playing for the top plum.
Comeback
In the game, UL, which managed to overcome a 13-point deficit early on, and completed their remarkable comeback with the dramatic victory over Cebu’s top college team.
The Lancers had the win in their hands but because of unlikely errors from Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc’s unprecedented seven-time champions, what could have been their fourth straight win turned into their first loss of the competition.
In regulation, UV had the lead 70-68 and had ball possession in the final 15 seconds. However, UL’s Marbin Macalalad snatched the ball right out of Chris Diputado’s nose and found Normal Ilao to tie the game at 70.
UV bungled another chance to win when Diputado’s attempt for a three-pointer failed to materialize, which eventually sent the game to overtime.
Natavio and Paul Sabordo led UL’s scorers with 16 points, while Norman Ilao added 13.
Ritchum Dennison, on the other hand, topscored for UV with 16 points, while the 6-foot-11 Gregory Slaughter was limited to just 14 points.
