THE heated rivalry between defending champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers and the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters continues after both teams dispatched their respective opponents in the Top Four of the Cesafi men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.
The Green Lancers once again survived a late rally by the Benedicto College (BC) Cheetahs, 70-66, while the Webmasters dominated the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, 77-61.
With their victories, the UV-UC best-of-three championship series is set to begin on Tuesday.
This marks the fourth straight season that the two teams will meet in the finals. In their previous three championship battles, the Lancers always came out on top, taking home the title.
In 2022, the Lancers swept the series, 2-0, and in 2023, they clinched the championship in dramatic fashion with a 2-1 series win. Last year, they again denied the Webmasters, 2-0.
The dominant Lancers are now eyeing a four-peat, but it’s undeniable that the Webmasters are hungrier than ever.
“Every year we assume that the players get more mature, and we hope that we will be better this year,” said UC head coach Atty. Kern Sesante.
The Lancers looked sharp early, posting a 19-point lead at halftime, 37-18.
However, the momentum slowly shifted in the third quarter as Den Rick Orgong, Serge Grabines, John Carlo Sabroso, AJ Tolipas, and Jhon Loufred Diamante joined forces to spark BC’s offense. A 14-7 rally trimmed the lead to 49-54 entering the fourth.
Early in the final quarter, Sabroso and Babalcon scored four straight points to cut the gap to 53-54. But the Lancers quickly responded with a 10-2 run, powered by two three-point bombs from Albert John Sacayan, stretching the lead to 64-55.
Still, Benedicto kept pushing. Two free throws and a twinner from Diamante cut the gap to 66-64. But BC’s hope faded completely after Paul John Taliman and Sacayan delivered the finishing blows to seal the UV’s win.
Earlier, the Webmasters secured the first finals seat after pulling away from the USC Warriors.
The Warriors of coach Paul Joven were able to keep up for three quarters, but faltered in the fourth as Ricofer Sevilla caught fire and Luther Gabriel Leonard asserted himself on both offense and defense inside the paint.
Leonard fired 17 points, while Sordilla finished with 14.
Leading the Warriors was Kyle Maglinte with 21 points, James Paolo Gica with 15, and Joemel Tangkay with 14.
The best-of-three finals will begin on Tuesday afternoon, following the battle for third place between USC and Benedicto, which starts at 3:30 p.m. (JBM)