‘Clash of the Titans’ as UV faces SWU in CESAFI hoop

CEBU, Philippines -  Fans could expect a slambang hardcourt showdown as bitter rivals University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers and the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras collide in a rematch of last year's finals in the 14th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men's basketball tournament today at the Cebu Coliseum.

The UV-SWU duel is set at 6:45 p.m., right after the UV Baby Lancers take on the Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) Greywolves in a juniors division match at 5:15 p.m.

The Lancers may be the defending champions, but they appear to be the underdogs as they head into the battle against the Cobras, who are undefeated in three starts , so far.

In stark contrast, the Lancers are in a struggle. After a stunning loss to the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats in their season-opener, they routed the University of Cebu (UC) Masters.

The Lancers, however, could not sustain their momentum as they again faltered at the hands of the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors in overtime during their previous game. That setback pushed the 11-time champions down to a worst 1-2 start in their storied history.

But as they say, don't ever underestimate the heart of the champions.

In last year's finals, the Lancers completed a highly improbable comeback when they vanquished the once invincible Cobras three times in succession to become the first team ever in CESAFI's 13-year history to recover from a 0-2 series deficit on the way to clinch the coveted championship of Cebu's premiere inter-school cage league.

Before that monumental feat, the Lancers are faced with tremendous odds against the Cobras who are unbeaten in a dozen games going into the championship round. Southwestern U further expanded its hardcourt dominance by sweeping the first two games of the series for their fifth straight win over the Lancers and 14th overall that season.

To the surprise of many, the lion-hearted Lancers staged an amazing comeback perceived by some pundits as close to impossible.

That makes the UV-SWU rivalry more interesting this time.

However, things are now different for the Lancers of coach Felix "Donbel" Belano as they no longer have Wowie Escocio, their tower of power who once made history as the first player to sweep the Rookie of the Year and regular season MVP awards.

Also, UV's foreign cagers in Jean Marie Mpouma and Jeff Aguara are not so productive compared to SWU's reinforcement in Landry Sanjo and Bendley Valdor.

The Lancers though can count on their local crew in the likes of John Abad, Cris Perolino, Alfred Codilla, Raffy Octobre, Franz Arong, and the much-improved Leonard Santillan.

The Cobras, on the other hand, could rely on star playmaker Mark Jayven Tallo, Melvin Holper, Jasper Parker,Daryl Goloran and Bernie Bregondo as they seek to stretch their sizzling run to four games in a row. — with GGM (FREEMAN)