SHS-Ateneo, UC bantams begin title duel in CESAFI

CEBU, Philippines - The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles hope to move one step closer towards fulfilling their back-to-back championship bid as they take on the University of Cebu Junior Webmasters  in Game 1 of their best-of-three finals in the 15th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. men's basketball tournament today at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Magis Eagles and the Junior Webmasters collide at 5:15 p.m., right before the Southwestern University Cobras and the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars commence their own race-to-2 duel  for third place honors in the collegiate division at 6:45 p.m.

Unbeaten in 11 games, the Magis Eagles of coach Roel Rasmo are the odds-on favorite against the Junior Webmasters, whom they clobbered decisively during their previous two meetings this season.

By all standards, the Magis Eagles are a formidable fighting force. Leading the stellar SHS-Ateneo cast is Jed Colonia, whose all-around playing skills seems to be an object of delight for scouts out there and hoop pundits as well.

A complete package, Colonia can provide spark for the Magis Eagles on both ends of the court.

But it's not only Colonia that the UC bantams have to deal with as the SHS-Ateneo is loaded with several other offensive guns in the mold of Travis Mantua, Eroll Pastor, Andrew Velasco,  Patrick Yu, Phil Calumpang and Justin Javelosa among others.

The Jover Samonte-mentored Junior Webmasters, on the other hand, hope to offset their small size with their big-fighting heart and non-stop defense that proved effective in their big wins over the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers and the University of San Carlos Baby Warriors that vaulted them to an unexpected finals trip.

With the small but terrible Gelmart Umpad manning their backcourt, the Junior Webmasters could also count on Froilan Mangubat, Jason Abejo, Luigi Gabisan, John Bryl Cuyos, and Khen Pando as they head to an uphill battle against a heavily favored rivals.— EBV (FREEMAN)