Canoy is best grassroots coach in Cebu, says Gullas

THE FEAT may have taken a backseat to the rousing victory of their older counterparts, but the Passerelle and SBP squads of the University of the Visayas (UV) have done well to establish their grassroots basketball program as one of, if not, the very best here in the Queen City of the South.

And at the forefront of UV’s preeminent rise is player-turned-head coach Jaymar Canoy, who team manager Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas boldly called as the “best grassroots coach in Cebu.”

A fiery, sweet-shooting reserve wingman for the Green Lancers during their unbeaten run in the early part of the Cesafi, Canoy has imparted that very same toughness and moxy to his young players, proof of which came during the final seconds of their title game in the Passerelle division against the defending champions Ateneo de Cebu.

Down by two with just four seconds remaining, Canoy huddled his players and gave them a pep talk to remember.

“We had an agreement that we won’t stop playing until the final buzzer sounds in the final quarter. So after Ateneo de Cebu made a free-throw and with just four seconds left, I asked them if we were done. They said, ‘No, coach.’ I said, ‘Why?’ Then everybody shouted that there was still time left. So I drew up an inbound play and just told them to stay tough and to trust themselves and the system,” narrated Canoy.

UV went on to score the game-tying basket before eventually winning the title with a 60–58 decision in overtime.

Unorthodox in his ways, Gullas said that Canoy is exactly what the doctor ordered for his young wards.

“Jaymar Canoy is a special kind of coach. First of all, he is the first coach to emphasize studies first. He personally checks his players if they are attending classes or not. He is well loved by the UV community, and when I suspended him last year for undisclosed reasons, all the parents personally went to my office to ask for him to be back early, but I had to stand by my penalties. He is well respected by the parents but most importantly by his players. He is unorthodox at times, but the championships, both local and national, speak for themselves,” said Gullas of his coach.

Canoy added that their success is but a bonus to what they’re really after with these young players: character development.

“The success of our developmental group is just a bonus since we’re not after the dominance of grassroots basketball. Our goal is to develop these players in the hopes of grooming them for the high school or even the college team later in their careers. All the success that has arrived are just blessings. I just try to teach these kids to give their all in every game and teach them to choose the attitude of success,” related Canoy.