SBP and Passerelle Visayas sweep

UV and USC basketball. They couldn’t be more alike but at the same time so different. But when both teams won their respective division championships at the Visayas Regional Finals of the BEST Center SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament last week, both programs broke out of the respective shells to make a statement in the youth basketball scene.

UV is UV, a dominant player in the collegiate and high school basketball scene. Nine straight CESAFI titles in the collegiate division and a handful in the juniors division have made the Lancer basketball tradition stand tall. But the irony of it all is that UV never really paid much attention to the Passerelle and SBP age groups in the past for various reasons. They first broke into the youth scene in 2010 when they fielded a team in both divisions under the direction of head coach and ex-Lancer Jay Mar Vincent Canoy and trusted lieutenants Randy de la Pisa and Kenneth Pepito. As expected, both didn’t do too well as a rookie team, failing to make the playoffs. However, 2011 was a breakthrough for the UV Passerelle team as they placed second to Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu in the Cebu finals. The team then went on to win the SBP National Under 16 Tournament Baguio in January this year to nail its first ever major title in Passerelle or Under 15 history. Not bad for a two-year-old program. But there would be more to come. They also won the Under 16 division title of the ThreeSixty Pharmacy Cup of the Cebu Youth Basketball League (CYBL) last March and the Cebu leg of the Coca Cola PBA Youngstars Basketball Tournament in May. At the Coke PBA national finals, they placed second to powerhouse San Beda.

This paved the way for the new 2012-2013 schoolyear season. The Passerelle Lancers went undefeated in the run, sweeping the opposition of the BEST Center SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament Cebu leg and topping USC for the championship. The winning streak hasn’t stopped as they cleared the field at the Visayas Regional Finals, capped by a win over Ateneo de Iloilo for the title. UV’s title maintained a five-year winning streak for Cebu Passerelle teams winning the Visayas title. But there’s more in store for UV as they scale new heights at the national finals December 1 and 2 in Roxas City. The biggest stumbling blocks will be 2008-2009 national champions La Salle Greenhills who are back in the national scene after an absence of two years. UV also has the task of defending the back to back titles that Cebu holds (Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu in 2010 and 2011). How far will they go in their first attempt to win a national Passerelle championship? Stay tuned.

For USC, winning the Visayas Regional title marks a comeback to the limelight. The USC Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) program is the oldest and one of the most successful in Cebu history. As a USC South team, they won almost all Cebu SBP titles between 1996-2001 under the late Benedicto Mendoza. The streak continued between 2003-2006.  The SBP team won national titles in 1996 (with Mendoza) and in 2004 under current USC Athletic Director Saturnino Mayormita Jr. USC North also won the Cebu title in 2008, while USC South won in 2009. However, this past two teams failed to make it past the Visayas Regional Finals. Over the past years, USC North and USC South also won Under 13 titles of the CYBL 2008-2010 seasons. And so after a short drought, 2012 had to be something new for USC. The school made a policy-defining move to field only one USC team in the SBP Passerelle tournament, something that they were already doing in the major competitions such as the CESAFI, Milo Little Olympics and Cebu City Olympics. They also appointed Vernini Tangarorang as head coach with Bon Rosito as assistant. The result has been nothing but overwhelming. USC swept past the Cebu opposition in a breeze, never seriously threatened by any local team. Their average winning margin was a whopping 34 points per game. The streak continued in the Visayas Regional Finals although for the first time, they did receive a scare in the championship game against St. John’s Institute of Bacolod City. St. John’s came from behind to lead by one point in the final period of the championship game, but that only spurred the SBP Warriors to counter with a run of their own to seal the SBP championship. Cebu Basketball is praying that USC’s successful run go all the way to the national finals in Roxas where perennial powerhouses La Salle Greenhills and Ateneo de Davao await.

Cebu dominance of the Visayas? If the Visayas Passerelle throne has been owned by Cebu’s for the past five years (2008-2012), the SBP division is different. Over the past six years, Cebu has won three of the past Visayas titles (2007, 2010 & 2012), while Bacolod has won two (2008 & 2011), and Iloilo one in 2009. The competition is tougher in the SBP division and it’s practically anyone’s game from among Cebu, Bacolod and Iloilo. All this bodes well for the Cebu youth basketball segment as it seeks to strengthen itself and make an impact. It’s on the right track, thanks in big part to all the schools, coaches and players who have made it all happen. UV and USC’s wins are equally victories for Cebu Youth Basketball.

Time-out: Today marks the annual Christmas Fair of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. This year’s theme is “Persons for Others. Heroes for Christ.” >>> You can reach me at [email protected].