CEBU CITY — After struggling to find his mark throughout the playoffs, Jared Bahay finally found his stroke, scoring 25 points to lead Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu past University of the Visayas, 80-65, in Game Two of the Chooks-to-Go Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Season 23 high school basketball finals on Wednesday at the Cebu Coliseum here.
Bahay, the top-ranked high school player in the country, had a monstrous double-double with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting, along with 15 rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
However, Bahay was not alone in leading the Magis Eagles to the series-tying victory, as Froilan Maglasang had 15 points, six boards, and five assists, while big man Jelo Rota finished with 12 points, 12 boards, and two steals.
The winner-take-all Game Three will be on Friday at 5 p.m.
Ateneo de Cebu started to take control of the game in the third quarter, dropping a 12-4 bomb sparked by three-pointers from Bahay and Maglasang to erect a 57-43 lead. Later on, a long jumper by Nikolas Yu gave the Magis Eagles a 62-51 lead heading into the final quarter.
UV pulled to within eight, 56-64, after a triple by Jhunrel Dagatan, but Bahay extinguished the Baby Lancers’ fire by scoring seven straight, capped off by a long straightaway three-pointer that gave the Magis Eagles an 80-62 lead with just 2:27 left in the game.
Rodolfo Cambarijan led UV with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while John dela Torre added 15 markers.
The Magis Eagles steadily gained momentum and were up six, 20-14, in the first quarter when UV came alive and rained down one three after another, with Benedict Paca and Kenneth Cole hitting from the outside to shove the Baby Lancers in front, 25-24.
UV kept their three-point barrage going, with Dela Torre hitting two in a row and Cole adding another to give the Baby Lancers a 34-30 advantage with 2:39 left in the first half. However, the Magis Eagles kept calm and uncorked a 9-2 run behind shots made by Rota, Maglasang, and Bahay to take a 39-36 lead at halftime. – jP
