Cortes wants team to continue playing ‘UV brand of basketball’
CESAFI 2018 USPF VS CITU AND UC VS UV SNRS/SEPT.15,2018:Bassieu Sackor of UV Green Lancers falls on the floor as he tried to get the ball from Frederick Elombi of UC Web Masters during their game in CESAFI 2018 at Cebu Coliseum.(CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
The two-time defending champions University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers seek to find a way to go back to their vaunted brand of basketball when they face off against the offensively-challenged Southwestern University (CWU) – Phinma Cobras, today in the 2018 Cesafi men’s basketball tournament at the Cebu Coliseum.
UV and SWU-Phinma tangle in the second round at 6:30 p.m. right after the curtain-raiser featuring the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers and the winless Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats.
UV head coach Gary Cortes, who won’t be around for the next two games as he tends to business matters, shared that he and the rest of the team have learned a lot from their up-and-down first round that saw them end up with an even 3-3 win-loss record. The most significant takeaway, however, was their return to the Lancers’ “brand of basketball.”
“We have learned a lot from all our games in the first round. We have made lots of adjustments, especially with the brand of basketball that we play. We have to force some of our rookies to play the Lancers’ culture of basketball,” shared Cortes.
Asked what exactly constitutes Lancers’ basketball, Cortes said, “never give up easy points.”
Meanwhile, scoring points is on the agenda for SWU-Phinma head coach Mike Reyes and the rest of the Cobras, who finished the first round with just a win against five losses for the second to the last place in the standings.
Reyes said that they have to find a way to generate enough offense, to match their effort on the defensive end.
“We did well on the defensive end but if we can’t score, mahihirapan talaga kami,” said Reyes. (We’ll really have a difficult time.)
In the first game, the Panthers will be looking to get back on track after losing to the University of Cebu on Tuesday.
They will be taking on a Wildcats squad that has not lacked heart and spirit but remains winless in six tries.
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