MANILA, Philippines – University of the Visayas pulled away in the final frame to beat gritty Holy Trinity College of General Santos 91-74 and advance to the next phase of the 2012 PCCL at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Green Lancers banked on a 15-2 tear to stop the Wildcats rally for good.
Wowie Escosio wreaked havoc in the shaded area to finish with 23 points, including an inside basket that capped off UV’s run 85-70 with 4:00 left.
The hard-fought win sets up a Cesafi Finals rematch with Southwestern University Thursday for a Final Four spot.
The Wildcats remained in striking distance as they came to within two 68-70 with nine minutes remaining.
But that served as a wakeup call as UV regrouped and used its balanced in and out game to put away HTC.
Cameroonian Steve Akomo was also a force inside while John Abad provided the outside scoring.
Akomo, the six-foot-eight center, put UV back on top by double digits on an emphatic two-handed baseline dunk 80-70.
Abad then found himself wide open for a dagger of a trey, 83-70.
Escosio, Cesafi’s rookie MVP, had 19 points in the first half alone.