Cesafi urges member schools to raise school spirit this season

Cesafi President Bernard Villamor of CIT-U (fourth from left) and Cesafi Commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy (fifth from left) were yesterday’s guests in the weekly Cebu Daily News Sportstalks Facebook Live show hosted by students from the University of San Jose-Recoletos and Cebu Eastern College and sponsored by OneSky Fiber. CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA

THE NEW season of the Cesafi looks promising with league officials eyeing more engagement through social media.

But new league president Bernard Nicolas Villamor of hosts Cebu Institute of Technology-University believes the league won’t be as successful without the support of students of its member schools.

That is why Villamor is challenging athletic directors of the different schools to raise the school spirit among the students and to get them to watch the games of the league, not just in basketball.

Villamor recalled how it is done in bigger leagues in Manila, which contributes to the success of the said league.

“When I was a student, it was really quite a feeling when you sing the alma mater song after the game,” he said, hoping the practice could be adopted in the Cesafi. “The students came up with their own cheers, and the other team would also do so in reply. So I challenge each school to come up with their own pep rally.”

Villamor said this practice can help promote the competitiveness in the league and raise the school spirit.

Cesafi Commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy echoed Villamor’s sentiments.

“I’d like the students to cheer for their teams. That is our ultimate goal for Cesafi. We want to draw a bigger crowd and promote community-based fans in each Cesafi member school,” said Tiukinhoy.

New to this season will be weightlifting event and competition in the under-12 division in basketball and football. There will also be a new team in University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) while guest team is the Sisters of Mary School Boystown.

Cesafi’s theme for the year is “Cesafi @ 18 Millennial and Beyond.”

Highlighting the opening ceremonies today that starts at 1 p.m. at the Cebu Coliseum will be the Miss Cesafi 2018. There will also be a “Unified Palabas” which is a festival-themed program that will highlight Cesafi’s theme for the year.