Defending champion Webmasters survive gritty Cobras in rematch of last year’s finals

The two-time defending champions University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters proved that they did not need June Mar Fajardo to inflict heartbreak once again to the Southwestern University Cobras as they prevailed, 64-61, in the 12th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. men’s basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.

It was the first meeting between the two teams since they met in the finals series last year, a contest that was won by the Webmasters, 3-2.

Last night’s game was an elimination round game that bore the intensity of a playoff match.

UC emerged victorious as it was carried to the win by “Lone Star” guard Brian Heruela, who scored the go-ahead freethrows with 5.8 seconds left. The brawny Fil-American guard from Texas finished with 22 points, five rebounds and seven assists to buoy his team to a 2-1 (win-loss) record.

For the third game in a row, the Cobras faced another double-digit deficit at 11, 15-26, early in the second period. However, they battled back behind the scoring prowess of Cameroonian wingman Ben Mbala, who helped give them a 42-40 lead heading to the final canto.

The fourth stanza was a virtual dogfight with the lead switching hands at nearly every possession.

SWU took the lead for the last time at 60-59 after Mbala scored on an easy layup off a well-executed inbound play.

After a miss by Heruela, SWU guard Junrey Ortuyo had a shot to extend its lead after he was fouled with 31.4 seconds left. The fiery guard, though, missed both.

The Webmasters missed several attempts before Heruela drove down the lane and fished a foul off Mbala with 5.8 seconds remaining. He made both to put them on top, 61-59. On the Cobras’ possession, Ortuyo lost the ball to the sideline and Heruela was fouled once more and made the first before missing the second.

Mbala managed to get to the rebound and was fouled by UC center Val Cueva. With the Webmasters in the penalty situation, Mbala had a shot to tie the game but gave in to nerves and missed both.

UC rookie Kido Cabrera added two freebies for the final tally.

Cabrera finished with 13 while Robinson Mohammad and Kim Gomez scored 12 and 11, respectively. All in all, the Webmasters made 13 three pointers.

In the juniors division, UC demolished the University of San Jose-Recoletos, 89-61.