CEBU CITY – University of Cebu overcame late rallies by University of San Jose-Recoletos, scoring a 72-64 victory on Thursday in the 2018 Cesafi basketball tournament on Thursday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
UC led by 21 points, 61-40, before USJ-R rallied behind Jaybie Mantilla to get to within nine, 54-63.
The Webmasters answered back with consecutive baskets from Dacalos to raise their lead to 13 points, 67-54, with 2:19 to go.
The Jaguars kept at it and brought the deficit down to five, 64-69, after a tip-in by Nigerian big man Segamars Ewenike with 33 ticks remaining. But the Webmasters played steady, hammering the final nail on the Jaguars' coffin with free-throws by Peter Paul Codilla and Dacalos.
John Calvin Jabello had 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting, leaving the game with five minutes left after banging his head on the court following a drive to the basket.
Darrell Menina had 17 points and eight assists, while Dacalos added 14 points. However, the two guards committed a combined 14 turnovers.
Cameroonian forward Frederick Elombi had 10 points and 10 rebounds, fouling out with 3:52 remaining.
Burly forward RJ Dinolan led USJ-R, which dropped to 1-1, with 17 points and eight boards, while Mantilla added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Mantilla, however, had a hard time finding the bottom of the net, making just five of his 17 attempts from the field.
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