James Dalton Montante
BUTUAN City native James Dalton Montante wanted to win a Cebu Schools Athletics Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s volleyball title before calling it a career.
Unfortunately, Montante, who earned his degree in Human Resource Development Management last April, never came close to that in his four-year stint with the University of San Carlos (USC), settling for just a silver medal in the 2015 season.
But rather than quitting and calling it a career, the 21-year-old Montante is still determined to chase that elusive crown. And he’s using his final year in the Cesafi to do that but with a different team in two-time league champions Southwestern University-Phinma (SWU) Cobras.
“I returned because I’m really hungry to play,” said Montante, who enrolled a diploma course in SWU. “I did not return to USC because if you already graduated, there’s a 50-50 chance that you will be accepted in the team, then it’s much expensive if I go back to USC.”
Montante has been lured by Adamson University since his years with USC and was supposed to join the Falcons after graduating, but he still chose to sign with SWU since it’s closer to home. He also likes the school’s accommodation of its athletes.
The open-spiker Montante will also be joined by his former USC teammates Raul Consad and Nilo Jasmin, who already served a one-year residency after moving to the Urgello-based school last year.
As he chases that Cesafi crown, Montante knows that joining a powerhouse team like SWU doesn’t assure him of a title but he commits to doing his very best when his number is called as he looks to help the Cobras return to the top after a finals loss to the University of San Jose-Recoletos last season.