CIT-U ends slide

Games Thursday:
Cebu Coliseum
5:15 p.m. – UV vs. CIT-U (jrs.)
6:45 p.m. – UV vs. CIT-U (srs.)

After a season that has seen dark clouds hover above its collegiate basketball program, the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats finally saw sunshine.

This  as they notched their very first win of the season with a 75-70 win over the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars in the seniors division of the 2011 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) basketball tournament late Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

It has been a tournament to forget for the wards of head coach Gilbert Demape as they were mired in a nine-game losing streak.

However, that downward spiral came to a stop, thanks to the 30-point performance of Floyd Taboada and their gritty defensive stand down the stretch when the Jaguars threantened to snatch the victory away.

CIT-U appeared well in control of the lead, 61-54, with 6:25 left in the game.

However, that lead was obliterated in a little over a minute by the Jaguars, which got five straight points from Abulaiz Suliman and a short stab by Jose Tabaloc.

The game was last tied at 65-all after two freethrows by Medjet dela Rama off a technical foul that was assessed on Chester Curso after a confrontation with USJ-R’s Jason Olbedado.

The Wildcats fed off that incident and rattled off four straight points, 69-65.

The Jaguars last threatened at 70-71,  but CIT-U held on to improve its record to 1-9 (win-loss). USJ-R finished their season off with a 2-10 record.