THE University of Southern Philippines Foundation Baby Panthers moved closer to a berth in the Final Four after they thwarted the University of San Carlos Baby Warriors, 71-53, in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) High School Basketball Tournament on Sunday, October 13, 2019 at the Cebu Coliseum.
USPF blew the game wide open in the fourth canto where they uncorked a 14-4 run sparked by the fantastic play of Kyle Ochavo and Jerwin Espina to take a precarious 49-43 lead and extend it to 16 points, 63-47.
USC was not able to recover from that knockout of a run by USPF as the Baby Panthers recorded their sixth win in eight games while the Baby Warriors dropped to 2-4.
Ochavo, USPF’s diminutive court general did big things for the Baby Panthers as he had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists. Jack “Baby Shaq” Suello also had 13 points as he played sweet pick and roll action with Ochavo all game long. Elijah Singson also reached double-figures for USPF as he put up 11.
Afterwards, Ochavo spoke of how he encouraged his teammates to stay patient and play hard on defense.
“Gigil kaayu mi tanan. Gusto dayun malubong ang kontra. Mao to ako sila giingnan na focus ta sa depensa, maabot ra na ang opensa,” said Ochavo.
Justin Atilano scored 13 points to lead USC while Nathaniel Montecillo added 11.