The high school grand slam

Did you know that the Cebu high school sports scene has a grand slam of its own? Although not as prominent as collegiate action in the sports pages, the high school grand slam is a target of high school sports programs, especially in basketball and football. Scoring a grand slam means winning the championship of the major tournaments for high school in the region. For basketball, this is the CESAFI, CVIRAA and NBTC Seaoil Elite League. For football, it’s the CESAFI, Milo Little Olympics, CVIRAA and Aboitiz Football Cup. And for the past years, two schools have stood out to go for grand slams every schoolyear: Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu and Don Bosco Technology Center.

For the Magis Eagles of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC), the schoolyear 2013-2014 will be a season best remembered for getting so close, yet so far from scoring a second straight grand slam for Cebu high school basketball. The first semester turned out to be blank with the suspension of the CESAFI high school basketball tournament. Things suddenly picked up in February. The team which played as a solid unit as Mandaue City, won its third straight gold medal for high school basketball at the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) when it overcame Cebu City, 67-57. Cebu City was manned by the core of the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers with reinforcements from USC and PAREF Springdale. Then a week after the CVIRAA triumph, the Magis Eagles halted USC, 91-76, for its fourth straight NBTC Seaoil Elite League championship. But the year will go down as missing the chance to defend their CESAFI basketball championship due to the suspension of the CESAFI high school basketball tournament. While they were slightly favored to score a second straight CESAFI title after sweeping the elimination round and being a win away from the finals, there will be no official champion for CESAFI Season 13. Up in the air goes the grand slam, something they achieved the previous schoolyear. Going the extra mile, the team goes uphill when it seeks to defend its Palarong Pambansa gold medal in May.

A missed grand slam will also be the “sayang” talks of the Greywolves of Don Bosco Technology Center, Cebu’s recognized powerhouse for youth football. They started out slowly, missing the chance to win the gold medal at the Milo Little Olympics when they were eliminated in the early rounds. PAREF Springdale won the gold over SHS-AdC. After recovering, Don Bosco won the CESAFI championship over SHS-AdC via a thrilling penalty shoot-out last October. Riding on the winning momentum, they won the CVIRAA championship representing Cebu City, again via penalty shoot-out over the Don Bosco Boys Home-laced Cebu Province team. Ironically, Don Bosco’s season was like a diesel engine, starting slowly before picking up steam and momentum and winning the CESAFI and CVIRAA. Their next target is to win the championship of the Aboitiz Football Cup next month. The Palarong Pambansa gold is also out there for the taking in May. Save for last year, it has been a norm for Don Bosco to dominate the high school football scene, scoring football grand slams practically every year. No other school can match their football resume’. Incidentally, Don Bosco’s grade school football team also duplicate’s its kuya’s feats in an even more dominating fashion.

 It will be recalled that SHS-AdC scored a rare double grand slam for both basketball and football last schoolyear 2012-2013. The Magis Eagles basketball team won the CESAFI, CVIRAA, Seaoil Elite League and the gold medal of the Palarong Pambansa 2013. Their football counterparts also scored their version of a grand slam, winning the Milo Little Olympics (regional and national finals), CESAFI, Aboitiz Football Cup, and CVIRAA (teamed up with Mandaue Technical Institute), before placing second at the Palarong Pambansa 2013. The big question today is if any school can record another rare double grand slam for basketball and football in a single schoolyear. With schools continuing to build and improve its sports programs, we can expect the likes of USC to also follow suit. It is now serious with its football program and don’t be surprised if they challenge Don Bosco in the near future. If Don Bosco can also pour into basketball the same attention it gives to football, you never know how far it can go.

 So who will step up to the plate and score the next high school grand slam? a) SHS-Ateneo, b) Don Bosco, c) USC, or d) none of the above. Or did I hear someone say include volleyball as well? A triple grand slam?

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Time-out: The BEST Center Basketball Clinic sponsored by Milo is from May 12 to 17, 2014. Check out the BEST Center Sports Cebu page on Facebook for details.Happy birthday to Rey Cañete >>> You can reach me at [email protected].