CESAFI Season 26 gets underway

CEBU, Philippines —   It’s that time of the year again when Cebu’s best student-athletes test each other’s mettle as the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Season 26 formally kicks off today (Saturday, August 29) at the Cebu Coliseum. 

Before the season-opening double-header featuring three league newcomers, a grand opening ceremony will take place starting at 1 p.m.

The traditional Grand Palabas and the selection of Miss CESAFI 2026 in both high school and college are the main highlights of the four-hour program.

Exciting hardcourt battle begins at 6:15 p.m., with the debuting PAREF Springdale Titans and San Roque College de Cebu (SRCDC) Greyhounds going up against each other.

In the main game at 7:45 p.m., the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) will have its baptism of fire in Cebu’s premeir inter-school athletic league against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (UPSF) Panthers.

Action continues the following day (Sunday, August 30) with a heavy quadruple-header.

In high school play, the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons will lock horns with the San Carlos School of Cebu (SCSC) Baby Warriors in the 12:30 p.m. opener, while the Don Bosco Greywolves will clash with the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars at 2 p.m.

After which, the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers will begin their campaign for a rare five-peat against the USC Warriors at 3:30 p.m.

In the final matchup of the day, the USJ-R Jaguars will tackle the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats at 5 p.m.

The four-month CESAFI cage wars will follow a single round robin format in the juniors and double round elimination in the college division. Only four teams with the best records will advance to the semifinals, with the Top 2 enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage. The winners will proceed to the best-of-three finals.