Ateneo, St. Benilde to play vs top CESAFI cage teams

Two prominent college basketball teams from Manila will be coming over to Cebu for a series of exhibition matches against the top bets of the Cebu School Athletics Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) from May 7 to 12 at the University of the Visayas gym.

UV Green Lancers head coach Elmer "Boy" Cabahug revealed to The Freeman yesterday that the teams which will invade Cebu are the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles of the Universities Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the College of St. Benilde Blazers of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Cabahug said aside from the five-time CESAFI champion UV Green Lancers, Ateneo and St. Benilde are also set to take on the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, and the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors.

Cabahug added that St. Benilde will also be bringing its lady hoopsters to test the mettle of the UC, USC, and the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) belles.

Cabahug said Ateneo and St. Benilde's Cebu sojourn is part of their massive buildup for the forthcoming UAAP and NCAA seasons, respectively.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles, under the command of 10-time PBA champion coach Norman Black, will count the most from LA Tenorio Japeth Aguilar, Magnum Membrere, Ford Arao, Doug Kramer, JC Inytal, Zion Laterre, and Martin Quimson to shoulder most of their offensive load.

Perhaps unknown to many, Black graduated from and played for a Jesuit college, St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. He guided the Blue Eagles to the Final Four in last year's 68th UAAP season only to be ousted by archrival Las Salle Green Archers.

The CSB Blazers, on the other hand, are now under the tutelage of former St. Benilde mainstay Caloy Garcia, who was tapped to replace Tonichi Yturri. St. Benilde had to let go of Yturri for the latter's failure to bring the 2000 NCAA champion Blazers back to the Final Four in his two years as coach.

Garcia had just won his first ever coaching title after steering the Welcoat Paints-CSB to the championship of the 2005 PBL Unity Cup with a 3-1 series victory over Montaña Pawnshop.