Lion Tiger-UV to face archrival Gaisano Capital-UC in finals of Cesafi Partners Cup

Basketball fans all over the city will be getting the championship match-up that they have been salivating over as the Lion Tiger Aerosols-University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers clinched the other ticket to the finals which will pit them once more against bitter rivals the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters.

This, after the Lancers beat the San Marino Corned Tuna-Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras, 71-64, in the final day of the semifinal round of the 5th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Partners Cup yesterday at the University of San Carlos (USC)gym.

The victory gave them a 2-2 (win-loss) record at the end of the semis, edging out the Cobras, which ended up with a 1-3 mark.

The Gaisano Capital-UC Webmasters are already waiting in the finals as they are toting a 2-1 record.

The match-up is a rematch of the Cesafi finals series last year, which UC won, 3-1. The win broke the Lancers’ nine-year grip of the championship.

Game 1 of the best-of-five finals series will start on Monday.

The game was tightly-fought until a critical 8-0 run was let go by the Lancers in the final period. They were holding a slim 56-55 lead when Vincent Mendoza and Phil Mercader hit three-pointers while Edrian Lao added a power move inside that pushed them ahead, 64-55, with 4:25 left.

The Cobras last threatened within five, 64-69, after a three-pointer by Eleazar Armecin but the Lancers held them off with a layup by Mercader with just 10 ticks left on the clock.

Mercader, who was coming off a one-game suspension, scored 12 points, the same output as the rookie Mendoza. The Lancers were led by Lao, who scored 19. Armecin paced the Cobras with 22.

SWU’s lone win in the semifinals came late Wednesday night when it creamed Rose Aquarius-University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers, 71-56.