It’s a dream of every coach to beat the formidable University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers in the 8th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) season which will kick off this Saturday at the Cebu Coliseum, but only four schools believed they can win the title again.
But for UV coach Elmer “Boy” Cabahug, they are still capable of defending their throne even if this year’s Lancers crew are the weakest compared to the past line-ups that won him an unprecedented seven championships in a row.
Cabahug said their being the defending champion, their pride will make them the same force to reckon with. “We can still defend the title,” said Cabahug while admitting at the same time that there are still some weaknesses of the team that needs to be addressed.
Cabahug is optimistic that should the Lancers reach the finals, their toughest opponent would be University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, even as he tipped the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors, Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras, and the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters as the other strong title threats.
Almost all coaches and team representatives who attended yesterday’s presscon have one common and ultimate goal and that is to conquer UV because there is no other sweeter accomplishment or more rewarding than to humble the CESAFI kingpins.
For one, coach Alex dela Torre of the Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) Wildcats said that even if they lose to UV by one or three points, it feels they are like champion already considering UV’s great basketball program and winning tradition for the past decades.
Ritchum Dennison, one of UV’s vital cogs, said they are weaker compared to last year, but they will try their best to live up to the expectations being the toughest CESAFI contender.
Last year’s runner-up USC Warriors cannot promise how far they could go, but coaching staff member Ryan Betia said they now have a better ceiling than last year when they only have a go-to-guy from the post in Enrico Llanto.
The other interesting fact is that the UC Webmasters categorically stated that UC is not a “Fajardo team” as their system in anchored mainly on teamwork.
UC assistant coach Caleb Gawangon said that if Fajardo plays 100 percent, that would be of their huge advantage, but definitely he would draw ample support from others escpecially the two new addition from California - Edward Pao and Kevin Quilantang.
Even though Allain Abellanosa and Jonathan Canceran are no longer with the team, Gawangon said their present roster is just fair enough to send them possibly into the top four.
The Jaguars, on the other hand, are still intact with eight players on their last playing year. The return of Luther Luke Justiniani made them an instant contender. (GGM)