The Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildkittens continued their giant-killing ways in the second round of action in juniors play as they toppled the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers, 84-71, in the 2011 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. basketball tournament yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Wildkittens can already lay claim to a victory over league powerhouse Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) and they added another notable victim to their hitlist yesterday as they exploded in the fourth period to capture their sixth win in 13 games.
Though already out of the race for the next round, the Wildkittens showed plenty of grit and fortitude as they broke the game wide open and turned what was a close match into a rout after outscoring the Baby Panthers, 28-17, in the deciding period.
CIT-U led for most of the match, establishing a 34-29 lead at halftme and a 56-52 advantage heading to the fourth stanza. But just like they did against the Magis Eagles, the Wildkittens turned their game up a notch and burned the nets with Nico Otadoy, Mark Kong and Jerald Delima all catching fire on offense.
They also put the clamps on USPF’s gunner Rommel Diapera, who was limited to just 17 markers but none in the fourth canto.
Otadoy, Kong and Delima accounted for 20 of their 28 points in that stretch to pull off the win and dampen USPF’s record to 9-6. The Panthers are still assured of the fourth seed in the semifinals.
Otadoy topped CIT-U with 27 while Kong added 25. Delima chipped in 16 markers.