Unbeaten USJ-R Recoletos dominate SWU Cobras to join Warriors atop Cesafi leaderboad

Aug 13, 2017

RJ Dinolan barrels down the lane for two in USJ-R's 103-88 win over SWU-Phinma. Ron Tolin

CEBU CITY – The University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars scored a 103-88 victory over the Southwestern University-Phinma Cobras to gain a tie for the early lead in the 17th Cesafi men’s basketball tournament on Saturday night at the New Cebu Coliseum.

Jaybie Mantilla had 21 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals while fellow Mythical Team member RJ Dinolan added 20 markers to help the Jaguars get their second win in as many games and tie the University of San Carlos Warriors atop the leaderboard.

Victor Nunez also filled the stat sheet with 15 points, six boards, two assists, two steals and a block while rookie Julius Pacunuayan continued his fine play with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Jaguars held a 79-69 lead early in the fourth but the Cobras came alive behind three straight three-pointers by sophomore guard Shaquille Imperial that narrowed the gap to 80-83.

But the Jaguars responded with a 13-2 blast capped by two triples from point guard Mantilla that restored the lead to double-digits with 3:56 left to play.

SWU dropped to 0-2 in spite of the 18 points apiece by John Lloyd Luz and Imperial.

The scores:

USJ-R (103) Mantilla 21, Dinolan 20, Nunez 15, Pacanuayan 10, Peromingan 9, Cabrera 8, Ubalde 7, Calang 6, Gastador 5, Navarra 2

SWU-Phinma (88) Imperial 18, Luz 18, Fernandez 12, Ugsang 9, Bayhunan 8, Racho 6, Molina 4, Nazareno 4, Roncal 3, Bilao 3, Ugsang Z. 2, Polican 1

Quarterscores: 25-24, 45-47, 77-69, 103-88