Basketball event opens 22nd Cesafi Season this Saturday

LA Casinillo of Ateneo de Cebu tries to get past the defense of UC’s Micutuan. CDN Digital File photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The centerpiece basketball event of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), will officially unfold tomorrow, October 15, 2022, at the Cebu Coliseum in downtown Cebu City.

The games tomorrow will mark the return of Cesafi which took more than a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It also marks the multi-sports meet’s 22nd season.

Highlighting tomorrow’s opening will be two basketball games including the high school tussle between newcomer City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy (CBSAA) versus the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons at 4:00 PM.

This will be followed by the collegiate division battle between the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats against the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars at 7:00 PM.

The Cesafi basketball team head coaches said they are grateful for the tournament’s return, which for them is a big help in many ways.

In addition, they also see a more level playing field as most teams have revamped their rosters during the pandemic.

“I think this year, equal ang playing field, in fact, nakita nako sa uban teams, prepared sila. Unlike sa amo-a, maybe we have one of the shortest preparations and the worse preparation ever. In fact, wala gyud mi naka tune-up, any teams or tournaments ever since,” said University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers head coach Gary Cortes during the Cesafi presser last Wednesday at the Marco Polo Hotel.

The Green Lancers are considered one of the favorite teams in the collegiate division to win the title after the 2019 champs, the Southwestern University-Phinma Cobras decided to skip this season.

UV’s college and high school squads will have their first games on Sunday, October 16, 2022. Both teams will take on the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors.

University of Cebu (UC) assistant coach Caleb Gawangon also expressed his thanks to the Cesafi board for making this season happen after the long hiatus due to the pandemic.

“The most important thing for me this Cesafi season is that we the coaches, the players, and everyone involved in the league now has a source of income, and we are very grateful for that,” said Gawangon.

Rommel Rasmo, the head coach of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, the high school favorites to win the title, and newly-appointed USC head coach Paul Joven agreed with what Gawangon stated.

“We’re just happy nabalik na ang basketball, especially sa high school, if I’m not mistaken, ang Cesafi ang nauna sa high school sa UAAP and NCAA, so we’re all excited and thank you again sa Cesafi officials,” said Rasmo.

The Magis Eagles, the reigning Cesafi high school champs had one of the best preparations this season. The Ateneo Blue Eagles, the UAAP many-time champions, visited the SHS-AdC campus recently to conduct a short training camp with the Magis Eagles.

At the same time, the Magis Eagles topped last month’s Cesafi pre-season tourney hosted by Bogo City.

Their first game is on October 20, 2022, against the UC-Lapu-Lapu-Mandaue (UCLM) at 5:15 PM.       /rcg

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