Games today, August 5, 2008:
(Cebu Coliseum)
4 p.m. – USJ-R vs. USPF (juniors)
5:30 p.m. – USC vs. CIT (seniors)The University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters are ready to reclaim their spot amongst the elite squads of the Cesafi and they announced it with a huge 91-86 come-from-behind victory over the reigning National Students Basketball Championships titlists, Southwestern University (SWU) in Sunday’s last game at the Cebu Coliseum. After a long and disappointing season last year, which saw them stumble out of contention early on because of injuries and dissension in the team, UC is poised to start a new age in its rich history in the Cesafi with its crew of fresh rookies and the incredible play of prized big man Junmar Fajardo. Fajardo, the agile 6-foot-7 behemoth from Pinamungahan, Cebu, missed all of last season with a knee injury but kicked off UC’s title bid with a rare triple-double performance with 31 points, 13 rebounds and a monstrous 10 blocks. The last of his block party came when it mattered the most as he courageously stuffed SWU forward Janno Nunez's left-handed attempt to preserve a precarious two-point advantage with 25 seconds remaining. That block allowed UC to complete its comeback from 12-points down in the final period. Seemingly down and out of it after SWU's Alfred Belande made it a 12-point advantage for the Cobras, 73-61 at the start of the fourth period, the Webmasters showed resiliency absent from last year's squad as they ran off 13 unanswered points behind Fajardo's inside dominance and Janssen Abella's outside sniping to take the lead 74-73. A see-saw battle ensued and with the score tied at 86-all, Bohol-born but US-raised rookie forward Edward Pao rose to the occasion as he sank a mid-range jumper from the left wing to put the Webmasters in the driver's seat for good. He would add a free-throw on top of Abella's two charities down the stretch to put the final nail on the coffin. Abella added 20 markers and eight dimes while Pao had 10 points. Another of UC's prized recruits, Kevin Quilantang, also shone in his debut as he tallied 14 points, half of which came in the final stanza. The Cobras was led by Belande's 26 points while Nunez had 13 markers. SWU, though, missed the services of do-it-all forward Eric Zanoria, who will be out for two weeks because of the chicken pox. Box scores:
UC (91) Fajardo 31, Abella 20, Quilantang 14, Pao 10, Mohammad 8, Agas 5, Juliane 2, Cueva 2.
SWU (86) Belande 26, Nunez 13, Escober 11, Poligrates 10, Maguate 10, Jalandoni 6, Litorja 6, Django 2, Divinagracia 2. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio | 
