THE Cebu Roosevelt Memorial College (CRMC) Mustangs pulled off a shocking 78-71 win over the University of the Philippines (UP) - Cebu Figthing Maroons Thursday night, Oct. 3, 2024, in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
It was the first win in three outings by coach Paul Alelu Flores’ Mustangs, while the loss was also the Fighting Maroons’ first in two games.
UP started hot with a 7-0 blast, forcing coach Flores to call for a timeout and regroup his Mustangs.
Fortunately, the short break paid off for CRMC as it came back strong and dropped a 9-2 run that knotted the count at 9-all.
Lead changes
From thereon, the two teams took turns at the driver’s seat 14 times and forged 11 deadlocks.
While the Fighting Maroons managed to seize up the first three quarters with slim gaps of 19-16, 39-37, and 56-54, it was the Mustangs who finished strong with a spirited rally in the fourth and secured the win.
But for coach Flores “it was breaks of the game” that lifted the Mustangs to victory.
Keaton Taburnal emerged as the star of the night for CRMC, nearly achieving a double-double performance with 28 points and nine rebounds. Dale Andre Clark Otero supported him in the scoring with 10 points, while RedJhee Recimiento added nine.
Costly turnovers
The Fighting Maroons, who committed 24 turnovers, had Kent Joshua Cabanlit scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Jose Zaldy Dizon Jr. piled up 14 markers for UP-Cebu.
High school division
In the high school division, defending champion Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles bounced back from their initial loss with a 78-52 demolition of the Benedicto College (BC) Baby Cheetahs to log their
first win.
Last September 24, the Magis Eagles suffered a heartbreaking loss to the USJ-R Baby Jaguars, 75-71, in a tough contest.
No chance
But this time, after closing the first quarter at 15-13, the Magis Eagles, with Alden Cainglet leading the attack from different angles, never gave the Baby Cheetahs enough space to stage a comeback and claimed the one-sided win.
The Magis Eagles even posted their biggest lead of 29 points at 78-49. Cainglet fired 15 markers, while Froilan Maglasang and Kent Basa chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Joseph Carl Demaclid topscored for the Baby Cheetahs with 11 and John Kenneth Bihag contributed 10 points. /JBM