Gileant Delator of the UV Green Lancers goes for a layup against players of the Cebu Institute of Technology-University during their game in the Cesafi Partner’s Cup at the Cebu Coliseum.
With their head coach Gary Cortes watching from the bleachers, the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers manhandled the hapless Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats, 109-90, to take the top spot in the collegiate division of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) Partner’s Cup held at the Cebu Coliseum yesterday afternoon.
Cortes said he chose to stay away from the bench to test the leadership skills and decision making of his players. He added that he decided to let his players coached their game against CIT-U to see if they are capable of handling an actual game without him.
“It’s one way to test who among them have leadership characteristics and it’s one way also for me to scout who among them has the potential to become a coach in the future. Also, we want to establish a clearer communication between the players so that their chemistry will get stronger,” said Cortes, who blended in with the crowd during the game. “Eventually, not all of them will become pro players. Some of these players might turn to coaching in the future. It’s a test for them,” Cortes said. “Sila bahala ron (on setting plays).
This is the second time that UV’s head tactician did this in the Partner’s Cup. The first one was in their game against the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Panthers.
In place of Cortes, Tristan Albina and Gileant Delator served as playing coaches for the Green Lancers.
“I just realized that coaching an entire team is tough, but I learned a lot from this experience. I think this is very good for us knowing that we want to establish a stronger bond for our team in the upcoming Cesafi season. It was a very good experience for me because I was able to guide my teammates to a very productive win and also, we were able to communicate with each other clearly,” said Albina.
Despite acting as coaches, Albina scored 11 while Delator had 10. The Green Lancers’ top scorer was their team captain Josue Segumpan who tallied 20 while Sheldon Gahi added 12.
The win extends the Green Lancers streak to 5-0 (win-loss) and takes the top spot over idle University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters who has a 4-0 card.
Devone Ariar topscored for CIT-U with 15 points while Jemcerson Sable and Kenny Rogers Rocacurva each scored 14.
The Green Lancers controlled the game from the start with a 29-19 lead after the first quarter and stretched their edge to 21 points, 55-34, at the half.
UV continued their mastery in the third quarter with the lead ballooning to 28 points, 82-54. The Lancers led by as much as 37 points in the final quarter to inflict the Wildcats’ fifth straight defeat.
In the high school division, the UC Junior Webmasters gave the USPF Baby Panthers a taste of their first defeat, 73-65.
The Junior Webmasters staged a stellar second half to capture their fourth win.
UC had an explosion in the third quarter to expand its lead to seven, 57-50, after leading by only one point, 39-38, at the half.
The Junior Webmasters and Baby Panthers are now tied with a 4-1 win-loss record.
Jasper Pacaña led UC with 24 points, Justin Mondares added 15 and Joshua Gellalone contributed 10.