“If the Cesafi currently has a vision, which I doubt because I cannot find it in any available literature, then it needs to revisit this on the context of where it wants to be on a much broader scale – regionally, nationally and internationally.” – Gilbert Braganza
Member of Cesafi Board of Trustees’ assessment on league’s steady decline
A member of the Cesafi’s esteemed Board of Trustees has come out to offer his frank assessment of what he thinks is root of the its problems.
After taking a long and hard look at the league and its developments, Gilbert Braganza, Southwestern University-Phinma’s vice president for student life and the school’s representative to the Cesafi Board, said that the league’s “absence of a vision” is causing its steady decline.
“The tournament is only as good as the organization that runs it,” Braganza said. “Hence, if indeed the tournament is in a decline, then the organization is either incapable of providing the impetus to achieve progress, or that it is complacent and insensitive to the needs of achieving better standards and higher levels of success.”
After enjoying massive success during the time of now-pros Greg Slaughter and June Mar Fajardo and current La Salle Green Archer Ben Mbala, the Cesafi has seen steady decline, especially in terms of attendance with this year’s finals attracting less than half the capacity of the usually packed Cebu Coliseum.
“To me, both these instances of illness plaguing the tournament highlight the absence of a fundamental organizational character – the lack or the absence of vision,” said Braganza, who has extensive experience with managing organizations after holding top-ranked positions at World Bank and US AID.
“The absence of a vision – what it values, what it seeks to achieve, what directions it wishes to pursue, and what standards it prioritizes and enshrines – is, for me, the very reason why the basketball tournament and maybe the league as a whole, is declining,” shared Braganza in his extensive analysis of the league which he sent exclusively to Cebu Daily News.
“If the Cesafi currently has a vision, which I doubt because I cannot find it in any available literature, then it needs to revisit this on the context of where it wants to be on a much broader scale – regionally, nationally and internationally,” Braganza continued.
This writer asked several Cesafi officials, including Cesafi commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy and league pioneer Atty. Baldomero Estenzo regarding the league’s vision and mission statement, but the former has not responded as of press time while the latter said that those could be found in the league’s “article of incorporation” but he has since lost track of where it is right now.
The SWU official also pointed out that in order to properly assess what the league’s problems are right now, they need accurate data which feature three things: baseline, criteria and benchmark.
“Sadly, I do not think we have these kinds of information. Nor do I think we here in the Cesafi fully realize their importance in the overall management of the tournament. Appreciating and understanding these assessment aspects, are what I feel, will allow us to build a better sense of what is currently happening, and provide us clues as to the direction we are heading and how we need to reach that goal.”
Unique league
The league’s so-called “uniqueness” and its insistence on remaining that way, Braganza observed, is also hurting the league.
Braganza narrated that early on, he was told that the Cesafi is a “unique league” and would like to keep that status so as to distinguish itself from the other “big” leagues. But Braganza disagrees with this sentiment.
“I found this troubling because this, to me, meant stubbornness and irrelevance. Maintaining and perpetuating uniqueness, for uniqueness’s sake, does not make sense. It bespeaks of a ‘tribal’ and ‘inflexible’ mentality. It hinders progressive and analytical discussions. It constrains growth. If this is the position of the league, then the trend we are observing and discussing is a natural course,” said Braganza.
But hope remains with the vow of UV’s Gerald Anthony Gullas to actively participate from hereon in the league’s planning and decision-making.
“He can surely raise the discussion given the respected position his family occupies in the educational landscape of Cebu. If properly managed, he can incite exciting, refreshing, and enriching inputs from those who sincerely want to make Cesafi better, like SWU,” Braganza said.
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