The Cebu City boys’ basketball team. | contributed photo
ILOILO CITY, Philippines – The Cebu City Niños, the defending overall champion of the Batang Pinoy Visayas regional finals, are hoping to add another medal in this year’s edition of the multi-sporting event, which is being held in Iloilo City from February 24 to March 2.
This after it will be fielding in a boys’ basketball team for the first time since joining this multi-sporting event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for in-school and out-of-school athletes aged 15 years old and below.
“First time sa Cebu City boys because awkward kaayo tan-awn na Cebu City walay boys team, since before pa di ba? We have the girls [team] already but the boys first time,” said head coach Edelio “Eyo” Abellanosa.
This is the first time that Cebu City will have a team since it was only in the past year that the coaches have served in the Cebu City grassroots program, which is a requirement to be able to represent Cebu City in the Batang Pinoy.
The team scored its first win on Monday, February 25, 2019, defeating Dulag, Leyte, 72-23.
According to Abellanosa, Cebu is known for producing some of the country’s best basketball players, thus, it is only fitting for them to have a basketball team.
Cebu City has already proven its skills in the 3×3 basketball by winning the national title in 2016 in Tagum, Davao del Norte.
Abellanosa said that he first consulted with other coaches then conducted a tryout.
The team is comprised of players from different schools in Cebu City. They are Keane Angelo Yu and Joseph Dytian of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC), Kranz Mendaros and Joshua Dacalos of University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R), Kelaiah Tapic and Mart Julius Tigmo of Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC), Renz Wilart Cabunilas and Uriel Tobe Cases and Sebastian Versoza of Abellana National School (ANS), Mike Monton of Looc National High School, Rey Zedrick Pepito of Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion (CIC) and Rod Robert Robins of (PAREF-Springdale).
The Cebu City delegation is fielding a total of 390 athletes and officials. Aside from basketball, they will be competing in archery, athletics, arnis, boxing, badminton, beach volley, chess, dancesports, futsal, pencak silat, sepak takraw, table tennis, volleyball, softball, taekwondo and tennis. /bmjo