NILTON Otida led the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors to a thrilling 89-83 win over the Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology (SCSIT) Skyblazers in the Under-19 competition of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) National Juniors Cebu eliminations at the Cebu Coliseum last night.

Otida fired 38 points to lead the comeback victory of the Warriors, which came after their 88-62 loss to the University of the Visayas last Tuesday.

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13 markers

KC Charles Gerson waxed hot early for SCSIT as he scored eight to lead the team to a 23-18 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

However, things got tough for the Skyblazers as Otida broke his silence by sinking 13 markers and Kim Reyes showed his impeccable shooting in a blistering 28-14 run to take over the lead, 46-37, at the bend.

However, Gerson teamed up with Mark Tumulak, Alwin Aguirre and John Anthony Luceño to cut the gap to five, 62-57, going into the final period.

But just as SCSIT seemed poised to take the lead, Otida exploded anew as he scored 12 more points in the fourth to neutralize SCSIT.

Aside from Otida, Chino Uy Jr. and Miko Santos also dropped timely triples to help turn back SCSIT.

USC nailed a total of 11 triples, with Reyes sinking five to finish with 17, while Otida, Uy and Santos had two each.

In contrast, SCSIT only had three triples--all from Gerson.