ISAIAH Blanco made a free throw with no time remaining to lift the reigning champions University of Cebu (UC) Baby Webmasters over the hard-fighting Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons, 65-64, in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) high school basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019.
With the game tied at 64 after Allen Gler made the first but missed the second free throw, UC was able to grab the rebound and get it to Blanco who ran the time down before pulling up for a three-pointer right before the final buzzer sounded.
However, a foul was called on CEC’s Peter Rosillo, thus sending Blanco to the line for three-throws with no time left on the clock. UC went through some very anxious moments as Blanco missed the first two free throws before swishing the last to give the Baby Webmasters the victory and push their win-loss record to a clean 6-0.
Blanco ended up with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with three assists. Big man Roderick Acenas sank four three-pointers and ended up with 12 points for UC.
The loss spoiled the huge 24-point effort of Gler who went toe-to-toe with Blanco in a scoring race in the final canto. Winston Bingil added 13 markers for CEC, which dropped to 3-4 for the season.
The loss did not sit well with CEC’s active consultant Mark Tallo, who said they would put the game under protest over that last call made by the referee.
Meanwhile, the day was not without an upset as the Don Bosco Greywolves cut the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers down to size, 67-61.
Jose Zaldy Dizon led the Greywolves in scoring as he fired in 17 points to go with three assists, which proved critical in helping Don Bosco improve its win-loss record to 4-3.
Forward Dean Barrera flirted with a double-double with his 12 points and eight rebounds, while point guard Jayson Almero orchestrated Don Bosco’s offense with absolute precision, dishing out seven assists to go with his five rebounds and four points.
UV, on the other hand, saw their four-game winning streak come to an end, to place their record at 4-2. Fritz Banzon and Albert Sacayan each had 13 points but the latter struggled to find his shot, finishing the game with a 5-of-17 shooting clip. (JNP)