From Eagles to Falcons. Former Cesafi juniors MVP Jed Colonia (left most) of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles and teammate Cesafi Mythical five bigman Christian Manaytay (right most) together with Adamson representative to the Board, Fr. Aldrin Suan (second from left), and head coach Franz Pumaren (third from left).
/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Two Ateneo de Cebu cagers to take talents to UAAP squad
The Adamson Soaring Falcons continue to stack up on basketball talent from the south as they successfully recruited former two-time Cesafi juniors MVP, Jed Cedrick Colonia, and reigning Mythical Five big man, Christian Manaytay, to their fold.
The recruitment appears to have seen its final stages on Sunday after Colonia and his parents along with Manaytay met with Adamson head coach Franz Pumaren and the school’s representative to the UAAP Board, Fr. Aldrin Suan.
With the former Ateneo de Cebu cagers on board, Adamson now has a stockpile of Cebuano blue-chippers in Jerie Marlon “Koko” Pingoy, former University of the Visayas big man Mike Macion and former 2016 Cesafi Mythical Five forward, Conrad Catapusan.
Colonia said that the fact that the Falcons have familiar faces on their roster played a role in his decision to join the squad.
“It felt great to be welcomed here by people I know,” said Colonia in a brief talk after the said meeting.
Colonia disclosed that Adamson was pretty forthcoming with their recruitment of him. He added that he also received feelers from other schools but none were more aggressive than Adamson.
“I just wanted to be part of what they are building here. They have a great basketball program with great coaches,” Colonia said. “And they have the course that I am interested in getting, which is accounting.”
In Colonia, the Falcons are getting a one-time Batang Gilas combo guard who will shore up a backcourt that is currently led by Pingoy and Jerrick Ahanmisi.
After winning MVP honors in 2015 and again in 2016, Colonia suffered an ACL tear in early 2017 but recovered in time to lead Ateneo de Cebu to the finals of the 2017 Cesafi season, where they lost to the University of the Visayas, that ended a string of four straight titles.
The 6-foot-4 Manaytay meanwhile, stepped up during the 2017 Cesafi season with the loss of the Magis Eagles’ top scorer, Andrew Velasco, due to injury. His season-long brilliance led to him snagging a spot in the Mythical Five.