The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars zipped past the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, 74-69, to complete the semifinals cast in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Season 22 collegiate basketball tournament last Saturday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
Rookie guard JZ Dizon had a double-double of 22 points and 11 assists, to go with three rebounds and a steal as the Jaguars ended the elimination round with an even 5-5 win-loss record, the same record as UC. However, UC nabbed the third seed as they had a better point difference than USJ-R.
This means the top-seeded University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers will take on USJ-R, while the second-seed University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Panthers battles UC in the semifinals. UV and USP-F will have a twice-to-beat advantage over their respective opponents.
In the high school games, the UV Baby Lancers defeated the Cebu Eastern College Dragons, 63-59, to improve to 5-4. Franco Gabunada continued to impress, this time tallying a massive double-double of 14 points and 21 rebounds along with six steals and two assists.
The USJ-R Baby Jaguars also toppled the Cebu Institute of Technology - University (CIT-U) Wildkittens, 54-44, to snatch their third win of the competition. Francis Joseph Dollente had 19 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and two assists for USJ-R.