THE University of the Visayas Green Lancers will play their final elimination round game tonight, hoping to secure the second spot in the collegiate division of the 2013 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
In the opening game, the struggling Cebu Eastern College Dragons (4-2) will try to regain their poise as they face the University of Southern Philippines Foundation Baby Panthers (3-3) at 5 p.m.
Carrying a 4-1 win-loss record, the Haier-backed Lancers are looking forward to playing the weakest team in the next round if they beat the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats (1-3) tonight.
“We will still try to play aggressively. Although CIT-U is not as strong as Southwestern (SWU) or San Carlos (USC), we can’t be complacent because anything can happen. They are capable of scoring an upset and I don’t want that happen so we will push hard, just like in any of our games,” UV coach Felix “Donbel” Belano said.
Being the No. 2 team after the elimination round would entitle UV to a twice-to-beat advantage against the No. 8 team, which as of this moment is University of Southern Philippines Foundation. The quarterfinal round will start on Sept. 5.
The No.1 team, the SWU Cobras, will automatically get to the semifinal round, which is also scheduled to start on Sept. 5.
The semifinal round will use a double-round robin format for top four teams.
Last Sunday, UV had a scare when it lost a 23-point lead before managing to survive the end-game blitz of the Warriors to win, 77-63.