MAKE it four wins in a row for the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars after they hung tough down the stretch to defeat the University of San Carlos (USC) Baby Warriors, 74- 63, in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) high school basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.
After struggling at the start of the season, losing its first four games, the preseason champs have found their stride to even up their record at 4-4 (win-loss) and keep itself in the hunt for the last Final Four ticket.
Left-handed wingman Dilcer Gaviola led USJ-R with 21 points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Kendrick Abarquez had 15 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Ryzel Abatayo also had 13 while Kevin Guibao pitched in 10 markers to go with seven boards.
It was a hard-earned win for the Baby Jaguars which waxed hot from beyond the arc in the second canto, sinking five triples during that stretch to build a 40-24 lead. They extended it to a high of 22, 53-31, but USC fought back and trimmed it down to six, 51-57, after consecutive baskets by Jaed Buzon.
But USJ-R refused to fold and countered with six straight points from Gaviola, Santos Go and Abarquez to raise their lead back to 12, with 5:23 left in the game.
Nathaniel Montecillo led USC, which dropped to 3- 5, with 14 points. (SunStar Cebu)