UC gets back at UP
LEARNING a lesson from their only defeat, the league-leading University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters made sure there would be no repeat upset as they dispatched the cellar-dwelling University of the Philippines-Cebu Fighting Maroons, 71-62, in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025.
Though the Webmasters started the ballgame slowly, they eventually found their rhythm and pulled away midway through the third quarter, closing the period with a 14-point lead, 54-40.
The margin even stretched to as many as 19 points, 63-44, their biggest in the game, after Joseph Arth Nalos drained a three-pointer with
6:03 remaining.
The Fighting Maroons tried to mount a rally, unleashingd a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 10 points, 65-55, following Joaquin Zaldivar’s three-pointer 3:37 left.
But that proved to be UP’s final surge, as time ran out on their comeback hopes.
The win solidified UC’s solo hold of the leadership with an 8-1 card.
UC’s lone loss came at the hands of the Fighting Maroons last Sept. 30, when UP pulled off one of the season’s biggest upsets with a 73-69 victory. Ironically, that was also UP’s single win in nine outings.
Ricofer Sordilla led UC with 15 points, while Charles Libatog and Carlo Salgarino added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Kent Joshua Cabanlit had 15 markers for UP, Zaldiver chipped in 13, and AJ delos Reyes finished the game with 10.
Meanwhile, the University of Southern Philippines–Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers kept their flickering hopes alive by edging the Benedicto College (BC) Baby Cheetahs, 71-65, in the high school division.
Champ Davidson Brigoli fired 16 points to lead the Baby Panthers to their fourth win in seven games. He was the only Baby Panther to score in double figures.
The victory pushed USPF to fifth place, while Benedicto dropped to 3-4.
Kyle Nalisa led all scorers with 26 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Zhyd Pialago chipped in 11 points for the Baby Cheetahs.