The University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars pulled off an escape act, rallying from a 12-point deficit to beat the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, 70-65, in the 2013 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. men’s basketball tournament last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
The backcourt combination of James Regalado and rookie sensation Rendell Senining proved to be too lethal for the Webmasters to handle, especially in the fourth period where they combined to score 17 of USJ-R’s 21 points. The Jaguars improved to 2-1 (win-loss).
Regalado had 18 points, six rebounds and two assists while Senining finished with 15, nine coming in the final chapter of the game. Miguel Tabaloc added 14 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
The Jaguars played like night-and-day in the second half as they committed unforced turnovers and shot an abysmal clip that the Webmasters pounced on in a 16-2 run. Jan Auditor anchored that surge by scoring 11 of his 20 points in that stretch for a 49-37 lead.
But the Jaguars came clawing back with a 12-2 run of their own, capped by a fastbreak layup by Tabaloc that closed the gap, 49-51, heading to the fourth.
The two squads fought on even terms and the game remained tied at 60-all until the Jaguars came up with a decisive finishing blow ignited by Regalado’s booming three pointer and followed by transition baskets by Senining and Tabaloc that all but sealed the Jaguars’ win. The loss dropped UC to 0-2.
The Baby Webmasters had better luck yesterday as they grabbed their first win with a 65-38 bashing of Don Bosco in the juniors division.