Cobras down Warriors
By Jonas PanerioCebu Daily News
The Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras had a ray of sunlight shine upon what has been a tempestuous season so far as they routed the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors on their very own home floor, 98-63, in the 12th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament last night at the USC gym.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles served revenge upon their finals tormentors last year as they blasted the reigning champions University of the Visayas, 97-82, in the juniors division.
The Magis Eagles had vengeance on the menu for the Baby Lancers as they dished out a 39-13 first period performance that had their opponents reeling.
The lead eventually reached 31, 62-31, at halftime before UV tried to mount a comeback in the third, where they outscored the Eagles, 32-13, to cut the deficit to just 12, 63-75.
League MVP, Paul Desiderio scored 20 of his 41 points in that stretch.
However, a 10-2 run that was sparked by two three-pointers from former San Beda Red Cubs reserve team member Arc Gabrielle Araw-Araw restored order as it pushed the lead to 20 once again at 85-65.
Araw-Araw finished with 17 points to lead the team to a perfect 8-0 (win-loss) record after the first round.
In the seniors game, SWU bounced right back from their disastrous loss to UV last weekend and did it in style.
The Cobras broke the game wide open in the second canto, where they let go of a 14-0 blast that turned a 24-all game into a 38-24 rout.
Interestingly, the Cobras’ three best players last night scored in that run led by Cameroonians Justin Aboude and Ben Mbala and lefty hotshot Monbert Arong.
The second half provided no respite for the Warriors as Mbala put a stamp on his incredible performance with yet another jaw-dropping highlight. As USC was employing a full-court press, Mbala drove the ball coast to coast and slammed it down tomahawk style that got the crowd jumping from their seats.
Mbala finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four blocks while Arong added 21 markers.
Aboude was a force down low with 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
SWU now has an even 3-3 record while USC fell to 2-3.
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Tags: 12th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) men’s basketball tournament , Basketball , Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras
