CEBU CITY – Cameroonian forward Frederick Elombi had a monster game of 43 points and 21 rebounds to power the University of Cebu Webmasters past the University of Southern Philippines Foundation Panthers in overtime, 107-95, in the 17th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament at the New Cebu Coliseum.
Elombi also had five blocked shots and two steals but his most important contributions of the night were two free throws that tied the game at 89-all with jut 6.7 seconds left in regulation.
An unreliable shooter from the charity stripe, Elombi steadied himself and swished both shots from the stripe to knot the count. He then anchored UC’s defense on the other end to foil USPF’s last shot at stealing the win as time expired.
Elombi capped his evening with a huge turnaround jumper that pushed the Webmasters in front, 101-93, before fouling out.
JR Puerto pumped in 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in his best performance of the tournament so far. Kei Ya Kishimoto and Justine Dacalos chipped in 12 markers each with the latter adding seven boards, four dimes and three swipes to help raise UC’s win-loss record to 2-2.
Lyndon Colina scored 24 to lead the way for the Panthers which fell to 1-4. RR Cauba contributed 18 points and six rebounds. Lugie Cuyos scored 12 and had an incredible nine steals.
The Scores:
UC (107) Elombi 43, Puerto 15, Kishimoto 12, Dacalos 12, Tagudin 7, Codilla 6, dela Cruz 5, Naong 2, Gomez 2, Ludovice 2, Macasil 1
USPF (95) Colina 24, Cauba 18, Cuyos 12, Quiachon 11, Villarta 7, Avancena 6, Cada 4, Mangyao 3, Alocillo 3, Meca 3, Patalinghug 2, Batac 2
Quarterscores: 13-23, 37-43, 59-66, 89-89, 107-95