Benedicto College optimistic in joining Cesafi for the first time

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Benedicto College, the newest member of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), is optimistic of its debut in the upcoming 23rd season this September.

Cesafi recently welcomed Benedicto College as its ninth member school which will be seen in action in various sports this September. 

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They will join the returning Southwestern University-Phinma (SWU) Cobras and the University of the Philippines-Cebu (UP-Cebu).

They join mainstays in the University of Cebu, University of the Visayas, University of San Carlos, University of Southern Philippines-Foundation, University of San Jose-Recoletos, and the Cebu Institute of Technology-University. 

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Benedicto College athletic program

In an interview with CDN Digital, Bernard Benedicto-Chioson, who is the Benedicto College’s athletic director, said that their school community was very excited to introduce their athletic program to the Cebuano sports community in the 23rd Cesafi season.

“We’re very excited to join Cesafi. The faculty, the staff, and especially the president Lilian Benedicto-Huan already expressed her excitement for the opportunity and the development given to us to represent the school and the organization in Cesafi.” 

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Little expectations

Amid the excitement, Benedicto-Chioson has little expectations from their school’s athletes and teams since they are first timers. 

“Just try to be competitive first. There’s no promises of winning it all, no promises of placing. But we’ll do our best to compete in the sports we’re entering,” Benedicto-Chioson said.

Benedicto-Chioson said that it took Benedicto College too long to decide to join Cesafi since they mainly focused on academics rather than on the athletic side since its founding in 2000.

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Athletic side

“It was a strenuous process with meetings with the member schools and Cesafi officials, including the requirements. We joined Cesafi because this year, we would want to focus on the athletic side besides the academics, that’s why we joined Cesafi,” said Benedicto-Chioson.

They will be competing in five sports in Cesafi. 

These sports are the men’s basketball, men and women’s volleyball, badminton, and track and field. 

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Start of sports program

According to Benedicto-Chioson, they have prepared very well since last year before announcing their entry to the Cesafi. 

They started recruiting athletes, players, and coaches which will make up the core of their sports program. 

“We started our sports program last December. We started recruiting players, hiring coaches, and even recruit our own students to play for our teams,” Benedicto-Chioson concluded.