In the past years, there has been an increasing number of Cebuano football players who have been offered collegiate scholarships by big universities in Metro Manila.
Not only have Cebuano booters been selected into the national youth team, but they’ve also become stars in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
This school year is no different with the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) beefing up its collegiate varsity with six members of the Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) secondary varsity who have graduated from 12th grade.
They are Thomas Glen Ramos, the son of vaunted Cebuano football coach Glen Ramos, Erich Rafael Orale, Miguel Mercader, Christian Jubac, Joshua Genson and Jeremy Laro. They are the first Cebuanos to play for UST.
These boys have represented Cebu City and Central Visayas in the regionals and Palarong Pambansa several times.
Their teammates, however, opted to join De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. These are Joseph Kei Ceniza, Antonio Salazar and John Clyde Vitualla.
Abellana National School (ANS) is another constant contributor of football players to Manila schools. This year, head coach Francis Ramirez has recommended his wards—Kurt Cuizon and Joshua Fuertes to Far Eastern University (FEU).
Aside from college, talent scouts have also started looking into high school players from Cebu, such as DBTC’s Joaquin Buyco, who is now with De La Salle Santiago Zobel School, and Guiseppe Football Club’s Stephen John Soria, who is now with FEU. Both have opted to finish their secondary education in Manila.