Cebu Hoops 2014-15

Cebu Basketball has so much to be thankful for as it was blessed with so many positives in 2014. Looking forward, we don’t see things slowing down in 2015 as we expect more levelling up. Let’s take a look at 2014 and also look forward to 2015.

 It all starts at the top with June Mar Fajardo. The UC product has been the most dominant player in the PBA in his second season with the San Miguel franchise (San Miguel Beer and Petron). No other player is as feared as “The Kraken” and it looks like he’s headed to another dominating season in 2015. He was also part of the Gilas Pilipinas team that played at the FIBA World Cup in Spain and is sure to make the national team again this year. His next logical step up target will be the international scene where he has to face players who are even taller and bigger than the players he’s used to playing against in the PBA. Making Cebu Basketball shine is another dominating big man, and we only need to look right beside Fajardo in the San Miguel franchise/family to find him: Greg Slaughter, another Cebu product from UV who has also stepped up to the plate in his rookie year with Barangay Ginebra. Although not as dominating as Fajardo, Slaughter has brought match-up headaches to all the teams he has faced, and the scary part is that he still has a lot of room for growth. Also enjoying what could be the final years of his career and proudly carrying the colors of Cebu Hoops is Dondon Hontiveros who once played for San Miguel. While many thought his transfer to Alaska would mean a curtain call for his career, Hontiveros (from UC and Don Bosco), has found a career second wind and fit very well in his niche role as a court leader/veteran and steady scorer from the outside for the Aces.

 Aside from the men’s national team, Cebu has also produced players for the Philippine national youth teams in 2014. SHS-Ateneo de Cebu products Henry Asilum, Dave Yu, and Dawn Ochea joined UV Juniors alumni Paul Desiderio and Leonard Santillan in the national Under 18 team that played at either the FIBA Asia U18 Championships or SEABA U18 qualifier. Desiderio and Arnie Padilla (SHS-Ateneo) played for the national U17 team at the FIBA U17 World Championships. We are hoping that this streak continues in 2015 when the Philippine Under 16 team is formed (for players born 1999 or younger).

 Cebu basketball revolves around the CESAFI where the Southwestern University regained the title it lost in 2013. But it didn’t come easy as the Cobras needed a Game 5 to fend off University of San Carlos. UV found itself in unfamiliar territory in third place. The Lancers recovered from this to take third place at the Philippine Collegiate Champions’ League, beating USC which settled for fourth. Ironically, SWU didn’t make it to the top four after placing second in PCCL 2013. The good news in the CESAFI is the development of teams like USC and USJR which has also brought in imports from Africa. USC has suddenly become a serious contender with its mix of good imports and a young crew of hungry players. In the high school division, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu “defended” its championship (2012 version) after the 2103 season was wiped out. Earlier in 2014, SHS-Ateneo won the Cebu NBTC Elite League title and made it to the final four of the national finals. It also won bronze medal at the Palarong Pambansa 2014 in Laguna. CESAFI 2015 will be an open race in both the college and high school divisions with neither SWU nor SHS-AdC guaranteed to defend their titles

 In the grassroots/youth level, the UV Passerelle team won its first ever national championship at the BEST SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament backed by Milo, scoring the feat on home soil in Cebu. The UV/Team Cebu City Under 16 team had also won the national championship of the Coca Cola PBA Youngstars tournament in May. Dominating the Under 12 age group was USC which won a third straight SBP championship at the Cebu BEST SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament. They also won the Milo Little Olympics Visayas title. The USC Under 17 team also scored a gold medal at the Milo Little Olympics national finals. Meanwhile, the Cebu Youth Basketball League had its biggest year in terms of team participation and calendar of activities. With Alaska as its chief supporter, the CYBL staged three major tournaments: the Alaska Basketball Cup Cebu (January to March), the Alaska CYBL VISMIN Goodwill Games (May) and the Alaska Basketball D-league (August to November). It also introduced a Girls Under 17 division this year. The D-League attracted a record number of 74 teams. Looking forward, 2015 should be another robust year for the youth segment filled with basketball action.

 Beyond all these, Cebu also had its host of tournaments at just about every level: from the barangay tournaments to inter company, inter BPO, and to the various Mayor’s Cups and City/Town Fiesta tournaments across the province. The “panalay” players were aplenty with former commercial and pro players strutting their stuff from Daanbantayan to Santander.

 That was Cebu Basketball in 2014. All these and more will be duplicated in 2015. For all this, we are grateful that we get to enjoy the game that we all love to play.

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 Time-out: Happy birthday to Presing Capangpangan.