USPF on a roll

The Rose Aquarius-University of Southern Philippines Foundation Panthers are slowly gaining confidence after snatching their second straight win by beating the Winner Beef Loaf-Cebu Institute of Technology Wildcats, 67-54, in the 5th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Partner’s Cup, yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.
After a disastrous first-round performance that saw them get only one win, the Panthers have doubled that total early in the second round as they routed the equally miserable Wildcats with a dominant third period.
The Panthers had the inside track on a lopsided win early on as they led, 19-6, after the opening canto. However, they left the door wide open and the Wildcats smashed it down and came to within four, 24-28, at halftime, behind the concerted efforts of Chester Curso who scored 10 of his 17 markers in that stretch.
But the Panthers were not fazed and utilized an 11-2 run at the end of the third frame to break the game wide open in their favor. Conspiring to put the Panthers in that position were Randy Avila, Joseph Sedurifa, Mil Linao and Fritz Dajalos. That hot run enabled them to take a 50-35 lead to the fourth period.
The Wildcats had one last fight in them as they came to within nine, 50-59, with an 8-0 blast but blew their comeback opportunity altogether by missing several free-throws. A difficult layup and a three-point play by James Feraren with 44 seconds left shut the door emphatically on the Wildcats.
Linao and Sedurifa were the Panthers’ unlikely leading scorers with 11 points apiece. They improved their record to 3-6, just a few days after upsetting the nine-time Cesafi champions, University of the Visayas Green Lancers. The Wildcats fell to 1-8.