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They were considered as one of the title-favorites before the Cesafi men's basketball started, but one wrong move could spell their doom.
The second-seed University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars start their semifinal series against the University of Cebu (UC) webmasters on Tuesday at the Cebu Coliseum, hoping to finally barge into the Finals after missing last year's edition.
The Jaguars are ripe for the picking, with eight seniors making their last stand for that elusive title.
They have been dominant all tournament long, losing only once in seven matches to grab the no. 2 seed.
In contrast, the Webmasters had to go through the eye of the needle in order to make it to the next round.
They had to survive a gritty Southwestern University (SWU) squad in the quarterfinals before reaching the semis.
USJ-R routed UC, 97-69, in their encounter in the elimination round but the Jaguars remain wary of the Webmasters' capability to pull off an upset, especially with the presence of 6-foot-9 behemoth Junmar Fajardo.
“Kani sila, dili ni pwede sayon-sayunon kay nag-prepare ug nagpa-condition pud ni sila. An upset can happen kay kuyaw kaayo na kontra ang UC,” said USJ-R athletic director Dioscoro Himotas in a press conference last week.
UC basketball consultant Atty. Baldomero Estenzo sees the semifinal matchup as a tough one especially with a veteran-laden and battle-tested crew as USJ-R.
“The most experienced team in the league is USJ-R. They've been playing together with the same core guys for five years already. Pero if magtulog-tulog sila sa pancitan, basin diay makadaug mi. The results are really secondary as long as the players do their best,” Estenzo said. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio
