Ateneo Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin (center) with Raffy Celis (left) and Michael Asoro (right). CDN Digital photo | Glendale Rosal
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—Ateneo Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin says the addition of Raffy Celis and Michael Asoro of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu to his roster will be a welcome development.
The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu officially announced on Monday, April 10, 2023, that Celis and Asoro have committed to play for the Blue Eagles in the UAAP.
“I promise you that they will add something to our program that we currently don’t have. They will give us that Cebuano toughness which comes from that guy over there,” Baldwin said, pointing to Magis Eagles head coach Rommel Rasmo.
Both players are vital cogs in the Magis Eagles campaign in Cesafi high school basketball tournament. They also played big in the recent NBTC National Finals, where Celis averaged 17.3 points and Asoro 17.5 points.
Celis is from Bacolod, Negros Occidental while Asoro is from Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
“I would like to thank Sacred Heart School for everything you’ve done to bring these two young men to this point,” said Baldwin during the press conference. “We are very proud that they will be part of our program.”
The Blue Eagles are the reigning men’s basketball champion of the UAAP. They won against the University of the Philippines in the finals.
The Magis Eagles, meanwhile, are the reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) high school champions. They beat the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy in the Finals.
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Ateneo de Cebu’s Raffy Celis, Michael Asoro to play for Ateneo Blue Eagles in UAAP