The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles ended their campaign in the elimination round on a rousing note as they routed the University of San Jose-Recoletos Baby Jaguars, 82-67, in the juniors division of the 2011 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. basketball tournament yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
With the prelims ending, now comes the tough part for the Magis Eagles as they face off in the semifinals nest week against the reigning champions Cebu Eastern College Dragons, the very same team that swept them in the finals last year.
Ateneo has an ace up their sleeve as they are armed with a twice-to-beat advantage by virtue of their 14-2 (win-loss) record, good for a top two finish.
The other pairing in the semifinals pits the top-seeded University of the Visayas Baby Lancers against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation Baby Panthers.
Dawn Ochea and his running mate Julius Cadavis led the Magis Eagles with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Ricky Cuyos had 16 for the Baby Jaguars, which ended the season with a 4-12 mark.
USJ-R started strong yesterday as they led, 15-14, after the opening period of play.
All that quickly changed as the Magis Eagles found their groove on both ends of the floor in the ensuing cantos.
Ochea and Mavii Suarez dominated down low to give Ateneo the lead until the final buzzer.