THE battle for playoff positioning in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) Partners Cup 2019 will intensify on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Southwestern University (SWU-Phinma) Cobras face off the Joemang Surplus/University of Cebu Webmasters in the main game with both teams aspiring to clinch one of the top two spots in the preseason.
The Cobras are on a tear in the second round, winning the last four games to pad their record to 8-2. Their latest victim was the University of the Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Panthers, 72-69, last Saturday.
Lamine Thiam led the Cobras in the pulsating finale against USP-F with 26 points, while Dyll Roncal added 17 points.
The Yayoy Alcoseba-coached Webmasters, meanwhile, routed the Cebu Institute of Technology University (CIT-U) Wildcats, 87-65, also on Saturday to improve to a 7-3 slate, keeping their hopes alive in the race for the No. 2 seed.
The defending champion ARQ-Builders/University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers have already sealed one of the top two spots with a perfect 10-0 record after beating the University of San Jose-Recoletors (USJ-R) Jaguars, 93-89.
The positioning, however, is yet to be finalized as UV will still play the Cobras on Thursday and the Webmasters on Saturday for its final two games in the elimination round.
The other game is also crucial in the team standing as the Cebu Landmasters/ University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors battle the Jaguars in a must-win game for both teams to keep their playoffs hopes alive.
The Warriors are currently at fourth place in the team standings with a 4-6 record, while the Jaguars are at 3-8.
The Warriors will try to bounce back after losing to SWU-Phinma on July 18, while the Jaguars are also hoping to get back on winning track following a tough loss also to the Cobras. RSC