Fighting Maroons, Cheetahs clash in another showdown of newcomers

CEBU, Philippines — The University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu Fighting Maroons will go up against Benedicto College Cheetahs in another showdown of league newcomers in the 23rd Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men’s basketball tournament today at the Cebu Coliseum.

Game time is set at 3:30 pm.

UP Cebu actually joined Cebu’s premiere inter-school athletic league last year but will be competing in basketball event only this season.

The Fighting Maroons will be mentored by Rommel Rasmo, one of the winningest coaches in CESAFI history with six juniors division titles under his belt with the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles. He will be calling the shots for a college squad for only the second time following his stint with the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors in 2016.

On the other hand, the Cheetahs will be handled by BJ Murillo, a two-time CESAFI All-Star during his prime as a player with the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats. He is a relatively unknown bench tactician but has silently makes his mark in small leagues.

The UP Cebu-Benedicto College duel precedes another collegiate match-up between the USC Warriors of coach Paul Joven and the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars of coach Edito Salacut topbilling a heavy quadruple-header at 5 pm.

The first two games under the high school division pits the USC Baby Warriors against the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) at 12:30 pm and the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy (CBSAA) Trailblazers versus the USJ-R Baby Jaguars at 2 pm. — (FREEMAN)