27 September 2018
CEBU CITY—Magic Marata weaved a first half magic while Jules Langres came up with an endgame trick as the duo powered the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors to a 74-65 win over the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars on Thursday night, September 27, in the 2018 Cesafi men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
Marata helped USC keep in step with USJ-R in the first two quarters of play where he dumped 15 of his 17 points.
Langres finished what Marata started as he took over in the final half where he fired 16 of his 18 points and scored the bulk of a back-breaking 10-0 that saw the Warriors breaking free from a 59-all standoff.
Nigerian import Sommy Managor also made his presence felt for the Warriors by tallying 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The win, its third in nine games, enabled USC to recover from a sorry 77-82 loss to erstwhile winless Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats last Tuesday.
JB Mantilla and RJ Dinolan scattered 15 points apiece for the Jaguars, who slipped to 5-3 (win-loss).
In the other seniors’ game, the rampaging University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters sustained their rampaging start following a 67-57 disposing of the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Cobras, 67-57.
The Yayoy Alcoseba-coached UC led by as many as 23 points and cruised to the easy win that solidified its hold of the number one spot with a perfect 8-0 ledger.
Paul Galinato topped the Webmasters with 18 points, while John Calvin Jabello collected 14 points and nine boards.
UC’s Cameroonian reinforcement Frederick Elombi produced 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals while Darrell Menina pitched in 12 points, six assists and three steals.
William Polican tallied 13 points, the lone player to score in twin digits for SWU, which dropped to 2-7.
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