THE University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers reasserted its standing as one of the finest grassroots basketball programs in the land as it captured the championship in the 12-under division of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) with a resounding 61-30 win over the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars at the Cebu Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019.
UV led by just six, 24-18, at halftime but hit its stride in the second half where it held USJ-R to a mere 12 points while scoring 37 to turn the game into a blowout.
John Bual led UV with 14 points and was eventually named as the Most Valuable Player. Christopher Abellana added 12 while John Baring pitched in 10 of his own.
Yosef Rañeses, the son of former PBA player Neil Rañeses, led USJ-R with 14 points.
Meanwhile, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) captured third place honors with a 58-54 win over Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC). Ben Ong scored 17 points to lead the way for Ateneo de Cebu.
In the high school division, Ateneo de Cebu continued on their drive for the Final Four as they demolished the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Baby Wildcats, 73-46.
After a tight first half, the Magis Eagles took off in the second behind the shotmaking of Mike Boniel, Tracy Dadang and LA Casinillo who scored 16 of the team's 27 points during that stretch to help them take full control.
Ariel Dinglasan scored 14 points and had 13 rebounds to lead Ateneo de Cebu to their sixth win in eight games. After missing the Final Four last season, the many-time champions are seeking to make a return.
However, an appearance in the semifinals remains uncertain with Ateneo de Cebu taking on the resurgent University of San Jose-Recoletos and the league-leading University of Cebu in its next two matches.
Boniel added 12, while Casinillo finished with 11 points for the Magis Eagles.
And lastly, the Don Bosco Greywolves ended their season on a winning note as they stopped the University of Cebu-Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue Campus, 71-54.
The win allowed Don Bosco to finish the season with an even 5-5 (win-loss) card. At the same time, the Greywolves also ended UCLM's two-game winning run to drop the latter to 2-7.
After leading by 10 at halftime, 37-27, Don Bosco let their guard down and UCLM took advantage to cut the deficit in half, 44-49, heading to the last 10 minutes of action.
Don Bosco, however, did not fold and dished out a 15-2 blast anchored on the playmaking of Escobido, who scored seven points in that stretch including a booming three-pointer that put the game away at, 64-46.
Jose Zaldy Dizon added 11 points for the Greywolves.
UCLM got 11 points from Jeco Bancale and 10 from Kirt Jalalon.
