UC Webmasters men’s basketball team. | Photo from Sugbuanong Kodaker
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The second-seeded University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters won’t take the No. 3 seed, the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers lightly in their semifinals showdown in the Cesafi Season 23 men’s basketball tournament tomorrow, Thursday, December 7, 2023, at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Webmasters finished their season with a franchise-best nine wins and one defeat to claim the No. 2 spot in the semifinals, earning them also a twice-to-beat perk against the Panthers.
READ: Cesafi: UC Webmasters end elims round with match vs Cheetahs
The boys of head coach, Lawyer Kernn Sesante, will take on the Panthers of head coach, Alan Cabatingan, in a rematch of their semifinals last year.
The Webmasters eliminated the Panthers in two games in their semifinal matchup last year, erasing the latter’s twice-to-beat advantage.
UC went on to face UV Green Lancers in the best-of-three finals series where the latter swept it 2-0, to win their 14th Cesafi title.
READ: Cesafi: UC Webmasters now 8-0
Despite their twice-to-beat advantage, Sesante told his team to prepare for a battle against an equally determined foe.
“We have the same preparations as what we had this season which is the one-game-at-a-time mentality. The players are actually very familiar with USPF. We admit we can’t take down USPF easily. We can’t take this team lightly,” Sesante told CDN Digital.
“They have all types of players who can play, so it’s going to be a great battle in the semifinals.”
Besides gearing up against USPF in tomorrow’s semifinal game, Sesante also credited his team for finishing the elimination round with a 9-1 record for the first time in UC’s participation in Cesafi.
READ: UV snaps UC’s eight-game winning streak in Cesafi’s ‘Battle of the Undefeated’
“I’m very happy, but wala gyud namo gi expect to finish this strong sa elimination. We just took it one game at a time as always. This was very surprising for us, but we’re very happy amo-a ni na achieve,” said Sesante.
“But we will not rest on that achievement kay naa pa ta semifinals that we looked forward to.”
UC and USPF’s semifinal game tips off at 6:00 p.m.
Before that, the Cesafi high school defending champions and second seed, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles will face the third seed the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu Mandaue (UCLM) Webmasters at 5:00 p.m.
The Magis Eagles have a twice-to-beat perk against UCLM.
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