12 September 2019
CEBU CITY—Shifty guard Gabriel Cometa came up with a resounding debut in college basketball as he powered the defending champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers to a 74-53 routing of the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors on Thursday, September 12, in the 2019 Cesafi men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
The rookie Cometa led all scorers for the Gary Cortes-coached team, firing 14 points to help UV kickstart its title-retention bid on a rousing fashion.
UV looked like it was in for a dogfight when it settled for a slim 26-25 lead early in the game.
The complexion of the match drastically changed in the third quarter when USC’s foreign student-athlete Sommy Managor sat down after getting his fourth foul.
The Green Lancers pounced on the opportunity, staging a 16-3 run to erect a fat 49-34 lead. The game was never close after that with the Green Lancers even building a 29-point cushion, 72-43.
Jancork Cabahug tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, while UV’s reinforcement Coulibally collected 10 points and 11 boards.
Jules Langres finished with 15 points, Froilan Mangubat added 13, while Managor had 10 for the Warriors, who dropped to 1-1 (win-loss).
In the high school division, Southwestern University (SWU) Phinma Baby Cobras broke into the win column by dumping the Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) Greywolves, 82-60.
Cai Villanueva led SWU with 20 points, Jose Zaldy Dizon topped DBTC with 17.
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