Games today (Cebu Coliseum)
(Juniors)
5:15 p.m. – USC vs. USJ-R
6:45 p.m. – USPF vs. UC
The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles used the painful memory of the finals sweep they suffered from Cebu Eastern College last year and paid the Dragons back in spades by crushing the defending champions, 92-86 late Tuesday night in the juniors division of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) at the packed Cebu Coliseum.
The two teams met in the finals last year where the Dragons trounced the Magis Eagles in three straight games to claim the crown.
But Ateneo de Cebu is back with a vengeance this year, armed with the lessons of last year’s blowout. Making the revenge sweeter was the fact that they climbed all the way back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth period to down the Dragons.
The Dragons looked headed for an easy win as they led, 28-19, in the second period. But the Magis Eagles persevered and sliced the deficit down to three, 41-44, at halftime then grabbed the drivers’ seat, 52-48, in the third canto after a tip-in by Dawn Ochea. But CEC fought back with a huge 15-3 rally behind veteran center Lyle Sumayang and forward Alfred Sedillo for a 72-61 advantage early in the fourth.
CEC remained on top, 83-74 after a jumper by Luther Huevos with 2:58 remaining but the Magis Eagles did not flinch in the face of imminent defeat. Baskets by big man Julius Cadavis and a three-pointer by Henry Asilum trimmed the deficit to one, 82-83. Then, after two free-throw misses by Huevos, lanky wingman Dave Yu canned a jumper from the keyhole area as the Magis Eagles snatched the lead with 1:19 remaining.
That was followed by a putback by Ochea and a free-throw by Cadavis that pushed their lead to four, 87-83. Sumayang then drilled a three-pointer that cut CEC’s deficit to one but Cadavis responded with two free-throws that kept the gap at three, 89-86. Huevos then missed a chance to tie the game with an errant trey-attempt as SHS-AdC ran away with its seventh win in as many games.
Ochea had 26 points for the Magis Eagles, Cadavis added 19 while Aaron Sing had 17 including five three-pointers, two of which sparked the comeback in the final frame.
Sedillo led CEC, which fell to 5-2, with 17 points even as Sumayang, Huevos and Bauya, had 16, 15 and 12, respectively.