CEBU CITY – The South All Stars withstood a comeback attempt near the end by the North All Stars, scoring a 104-100 win on Sunday in the All Star Game of the 17th Cesafi basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
The South All Stars led by as many as 18 before the North squad rallied to tie the game at 100 on a booming three-pointer from the left wing by Southwestern University-Phinma standout Shaquille Imperial and lay-up by the University of Cebu’s Justine Dacalos, 2:45 to go.
But the South All Stars kept their composure, with University of the Visayas forward Bassiere Sackor hitting a short jumper to give his team a two-pointlead.
The South squad then held off the North by grabbing several offensive rebounds before University of San Jose-Recoletos star guard Jaybie Mantilla sank two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to ice the win.
UV ace Rey Suerte had 19 points, six rebounds and three assists, bagging MVP honors.
Cebu Institute of Technology-University’s Jemcerson Sable nailed three triples and finished with 14 points, while UV’s Monic Soliva also scored 14 and had seven boards.
Another UV standout, Josue Segumpan, added 13 while Mantilla rounded out the South’s double-digit scorers with 12.
Joining Suerte in the Mythical Five were Sable, Soliva, Imperial and UC’s Cameroonian forward Frederick Elombi.