Webmasters score repeat over SWU Cobras in PCCL Southern Islands Championships

It was a different day, a different venue, a different tournament that produced the same result.

This as the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters reasserted their mastery of Southwestern University (SWU) in winning the Southern Islands championship in the 2011 Philippine Collegiate Champions League after they slipped past the Cobras, 63-58, yesterday at the Ormoc Superdome in Ormoc City.

The rivalry thatbest defined the 2011 season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) spilled over to the Ormoc Superdome as the two teams picked up where they left off in the seniors division finals series, which the Webmasters won in five games.

The Webmasters built a lead that went as high as 22 and then withstood an injury to star center Junemar Fajardo and a late-game barrage by the Cobras to win the title and earn a slot in the PCCL Final Four.

UC started to pull away in the second period as Fajardo took advantage of the absence of the foul-plagued Justin Aboude to scatter 11 points in that stretch and put his team on top, 35-22.

The Cobras were able to creep within seven, 28-35, at the start of the second half but the Webmasters unleashed a 22-5 blast that was highlighted by three triples from Edward Pao and a ferocious slam by Fajardo to establish a 57-38 lead heading to the final period.

But the Cobras did not give up easily as they started the fourth period with a 16-4 run that sliced the deficit down to just seven, 54-61.

Making matters worse for UC was the apparent knee injury that Fajardo sustained on a looseball play that sidelined him at the 4:02 mark.

A score by Eleazar Armecin followed by an inside stab by Aboude off a nice feed from the former with 58.9 seconds left pushed the Cobras even closer, 58-61.

The Cobras got the possession back after a wayward three attempt by Robinson Mohammad but they were unable to convert as Junrey Ortuyo missed on two perimeter jumpers.

Mohammad then sealed the game with two free-throws with 4.3 ticks remaining.

Fajardo ended up with 21 points while Pao and Brian Heruela each had 14.

The Cobras were led by the 23 of Armecin and the 19 of Aboude.

The Webmasters start their Final Four campaign on Monday. The semifinals will be a round-robin affair featuring the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the San Beda Red Lions and the winner of the match between Letran and San Sebastian, which was ongoing as of this writing.