Lancers whip Panthers to inch closer to twice-to-beat advantage in Cesafi semifinals

The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers did their part in trying to secure the second seed and the last twice-to-beat bonus that comes with it after they defeated the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers, 70-58, in the seniors division of the 2011 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc.  basketball tournament late Tuesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

The victory allowed the Green Lancers to finish the double round-robin elimination round with a 9-3 (win-loss) record.

However, their chances of the second seed do not lie in their hands as the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras get their shot at the same spot today with a match against the league-leading and reigning champions University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters in the final day of the eliminations.

A win by the Cobras, who have yet to be defeated in the second round, will give them the same record as the Lancers. Should that happen, the Cobras will get the second seed by virtue of SWU’s two wins over UV this season.

UV and SWU are set to meet either way in the semifinal round, which starts next week with the first and second seed getting the all-important twice-to-beat advantage.

The Panthers kept the game close in the first half but failed to sustain the same kind of effort in the third period where the Lancers steadily applied pressure on both ends of the floor to finally control the lead and eventually grab the win.