Cesafi cancels 2020 season due to COVID-19 threat
Mandaue City, Cebu–Cebu School Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) commissioner Felix “Boy” Tiukinhoy announced on Friday, May 1, 2020, that the 2020 season of the multisporting event will be canceled due to threats of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Tiukinhoy made the announcement via a video conference with members of the local sports scribes on Friday morning.
The long-time commissioner said the Cesafi Board decided on Thursday, April 30, to cancel all sporting events primarily for the safety of the players, team officials, students, and the fans.
“It is very sad, not only for the players but also for the fans,” Tiukinhoy said, saying the Cesafi is something sports fans in Cebu look forward to every year. “But we don’t have any other choice.”
“The gathering of players, students and fans in an enclosed gymnasium is conducive to person-to-person transmission. Physical and social distancing is hard to implement in such an area in mass gatherings,” Tiukinhoy added.
The league would have been in its 20th season come August 2020.
Scholarships continue
Tiukinhoy clarified, though, that student-athletes will continue to enjoy scholarships from their respective schools even with the cancellation of the season.
“The players are lucky. They can now focus on their studies while still enjoying scholarship,” he said.
On when the league is expected to resume, Tiuknhoy said it will all depend on how the COVID-19 crisis goes.
The reigning champions for the premier basketball event are the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Cobras in the college division and the Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles in the juniors division.
In volleyball, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Lady Jaguars are the current champions in the women’s side while the SWU-Phinma topped the men’s side.
University of Cebu (UC), for the first time in a decade, won the boys title while the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) defended the girls title.
In football, USC continued to reign supreme by clinching its seventh collegiate title while Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) got back on top in the junior division.
In futsal, Ateneo raked in its third straight title. In the 19th season, however, futsal already had two divisions unlike in its first two stagings. Thus, USC became the inaugural collegiate futsal champs.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
