“We’re lucky that our shots were going in. It’s a break for us.”
The University of San Carlos defeated the UAAP Season 77 bridesmaid finishers FEU Tamaraws 88-74 in the first day of the continuing PCCL games held at Cebu Coliseum, Cebu.
The Warriors punched in consecutive baskets in the opening quarter led by Rabat and Magat to establish an early lead 23-10. The Visayas team erected a lead as high as 24 points but the UAAP squad slowly clawed back from midway of the second period.
Anchored by Mike Tolomia, the Tamaraws fought back to slice the deficit to as close as one but USC were tough enough to pull away again at the last part of the third quarter. The Warriors made enough freethrows to seal the deal and put the UAAP squad away for good.
“We were not ready to play today” said Coach Nash Racela who thought his guys were not playing the level he was expecting. “It’s hard to play catch up the entire 40 minutes” he added.
“We’re lucky to get the breaks,” said coach Junthy Valenzuela who was pleased with the way his boys played. He also added that he felt lucky that the shots were falling tonight.
The USC Warriors was led by Espoir Toyambi with 20 points. Shooster Olago added 19 points. The FEU Tamaraws was led by Mike Tolomia, who scored 21 points. Mark Belo added 13 points in the losing effort.
USC and DLSU notched victories in day 1 of the PCCL Cebu Leg. Both will face Southwestern University and University of Visayas respectively on Nov. 14 still at Cebu Coliseum.
the scores:
USC (88) – Toyambi 20, Olago 19, Rabat 10, Magat 10, Tagapan 9, Asuncion 7, Lim 6, Arjon 3, Pepito 2, Bensig 2, Ecarma 0, Igna 0, Malana 0, Adlawan 0.
FEU (74) – Tolomia 21, Belo 13, Cruz 11, Tamsi 8, Trinidad 5, Pogoy 4, Orizu 4, Iñigo 3, Eboña 3, Escoto 2, Jose 0, Denila 0, Delfinado 0, Ugsang 0, Lee Yu 0.
Quarter Scores: 23-10; 44-35; 62-56; 88-74.
