UV’s Suerte stepping up to the challenge

UV’s Rey Suerte has been the main man for the Green Lancers this season | Photo courtesy of Ron Tolin

GAMES TODAY:
CEBU COLISEUM
(COLLEGE)
5:00 PM – CIT-U vs USC
6:30 PM – UV vs USPF

With his team still getting back several injured players and slowly rounding into form in the second round, one-time league MVP Rey Suerte is embracing the challenge as the University of the Visayas’ (UV) go-to guy.

He will have to shoulder the heavy-lifting once again today when he and the rest of the Green Lancers face off against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers in the 2018 Cesafi men’s basketball tournament over at the Cebu Coliseum.

“I just have to work twice as hard on both ends of the floor, especially with all the players that we lost from last season. We also have a lot of players who are either injured or are still recovering from injuries, so we really have to work very hard to organize our team well,” said the pride of Monkayo in Compostela Valley.

“We’re trying to build our confidence a little more in the second round because we need to recover from the losses that we suffered in the first round,” he added.

With opposing defenses focused on the 2016 MVP, Suerte has kept track, scoring 30 points twice in the first round. He credited his coaches preaching patience for his consistency.

“I just have to remain patient on offense, especially since I know the defense is waiting for me. I also trust my teammates a lot,” Suerte added.

Unlike seasons past, the Green Lancers have been vulnerable this season. Sitting at 5-3 (win-loss) and a huge 84-83 win over the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) already in their pocket in the second round, UV is hoping to continue improving in its quest for a third straight title.

“We’ve already realized what mistakes we made in the first round. Even though there are some trials or injuries that came to the team, we are slowly adjusting in the second round and coaches and players already know what to do. Hopefully, this will continue until the team peaks. We will just play our game and take it one game at a time,” said the team’s skipper, Toto Segumpan, who missed three games in the first round because of an illness.

On the other side of the fence, the Panthers seek to find their bite after losing to the Southwestern University (SWU) – Phinma Cobras, 61-64, last Sunday.

“I just told them to forget about [the loss] and concentrate on our coming games. No pointing fingers. Move on and prepare for the next episode!” said head coach Brian Jereza, whose team has lost two of its last three games.