Saturday, August 30, 2008 SWU scores most lopsided win in Cesafi
THE Southwestern University Cobras may have suffered the biggest blow any school endured midway in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) collegiate basketball competition but this didn’t prevent them from scoring the most lopsided win so far.
SWU, which lost five of its reliable men after having been banned from the league for the rest of the season, trounced the Cebu Institute of Technology Wildcats by 58 points, 103-45, Thursday night at the Cebu Coliseum
The Cobras win surpasses that of the University of San Carlos’ 45-point drubbing still of CIT.
SWU, the fast-rising team of the league which is only back in collegiate basketball for two years, has been hoping to barge into at least the Top 3 this season to improve its fourth-place finish that marked its comeback last year.
Disaster
This, however, might turn into disaster after the team will be finishing the rest of the season with just 10 players after five players were slapped with suspension for violating league rules.
However, they showed up well-prepared in their game against CIT.
Notwithstanding the huge hole left by the five suspended teammates, the Cobras went on a scoring splurge early in the game that left the Wildcats dumbfounded.
Chris Litorja stepped into the hero’s shoes when he initiated a 21-0 run, scoring 11 of his 15 points at the start of the game, which basically spelled SWU’s win.
CIT only managed to find the basket two minutes left in the first period to end the opening frame, 6-27.
Later, Alfred Belande and Clifford Maguate took over the scoring duties as they led the Cobras into putting up an insurmountable 46-point lead going into the final period.
By then, it was quite clear for the Wildcats that with SUW’s lead and their impeccable defense, the final 10 minutes will not be enough to have a winning chance.
Worst season
SWU improved with a 3-3 win-loss record, while the Wildcats are in their worst season ever. Not only have they failed to score a single win in six matches, the team has also been at the wrong end of the league’s most lopsided matches..
SWU guard Belande, who had been playing sloppily in the last games, made a complete turnaround as he dominated the stat boards for the Cobras with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists and two steals.
Maguate, on the other hand, scored 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
In the juniors division, the University of Cebu Baby Webmasters finished their elimination round with a 97-66 win over the Cebu Eastern College Dragons to assure itself of a spot in the Top 4 with a 6-1 card.
Christian Taboada led UC with 13 points, while Francis Castro added 12. (MCB)
