The Consolacion Sarok Weavers during the PSL contract signing and team launching on Tuesday, March 8 in Consolacion town, north Cebu. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Homegrown talents will lead the charge of the Consolacion Sarok Weavers in the Under-21 Aspirants Division of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) which will open on April 21 in Roxas City, Zamboanga del Norte.
The Sarok Weavers are widely known as one of the best teams during the heydays of the Governor’s Cup.
However, they have now stepped up to a higher level by venturing into the PSL which is a national-level tournament with strong backing from its LGU.
The team formally joined PSL on Tuesday, March 8 via a contract signing to represent the basketball-crazy town of Consolacion. In addition, the team was officially launched during the contract signing held in Consolacion town.
No less than Consolacion town vice mayor Teresa P. Alegado led the team launching and the contract signing together with PSL Deputy Commissioner Chelito Caro and other league officials.
Paul Alelu Flores, the sports consultant of the Municipality of Consolacion told CDN Digital that their team is the culmination of years of hard work in developing local youngsters in basketball.
“Kaning Sarok Weavers namo, mao ni sila ang third batch of players nga niduwa sa Governor’s Cup. Ang uban nila gikan sa teams one and two, naa na sa Manila to play for their respective collegiate teams,” said Flores.
“We are very proud to say that our team is composed of mostly homegrown players. We have 11 homegrown players sagol-sagol na ni sila naay new faces, naay mga daan nga Sarok Weavers kadtong niduwa sa quarterfinals sa Governor’s Cup. Our team is successful in Governor’s Cup because out of 41 teams, we made it to the quarterfinals in 2019. Now we’re playing in a tournament such as the PSL which is a national level tournament.”
ULTIMATE GOAL
The team’s ultimate goal is not just winning the inaugural title, but to showcase Consolacion’s talent in front of the watchful eyes of basketball scouts from Manila.
“We join the PSL U21 in April because we believe that this is the right platform for our homegrown talents basin naay ma swertehan nila makasulod sa NCAA or UAAP while ang uban ma discover ug pro teams. I can say that we’re a good team because we’ve been preparing for this league since November. However, Typhoon Odette happened maong na postpone ang league to January nga wala gihapon madayon, pag February nagka Omicron variant sa Covid, until niabot ang March nga makaingon ta hapit na gyud siya masugdan,” said Flores.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
Alelu revealed that they have already recognized the challenges ahead of them in their campaign in April. One of them is logistics since the tournament will be held in Zamboanga.
“Grabe ka challenging sa logistics. Ako, personally, nag work ko sa bank, pero I’ve decided to go all-in for this team. Nangayo nako daan sa plot sa schedule para maka prepare mi ug tarong,” added Flores.
“Nag sige ra gyud mi ug prepare. Two of our homegrown talents already got the interest of the USJ-R Jaguars, so maka ingon jud ta nga there is a direction on what we’re doing. Medyo nakita sad namo nga naa mi chances to win the title based on our tune-up games. But, we’re praying and hoping ug sakyan pud nato ug hard work nga successful among pag join sa PSL.”
The team’s official roster is comprised of Rojan Montemayor, Patrick Gyle Montaño, Wesley Malazarte, Paulo Dalumpines, Froiland Maglasang, Neon Chavez, Christian Jay Alilin, Keaton Taburnal, Godfrey Sabanal, John Ray Almonia, Rovello Robles, Kin Dayday, Matt Flores, John Kirk Gonzaga, and Praveen Flores.
Kareem Alocillo will be the team’s head coach while Flores and Lee Mar Dahil serve as team consultants with Marc Malazarte as team manager. /rcg
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