Jared Bahay soars for a layup during one of SHS-AdC’s Cesafi Season 23 high school basketball games. | By Sugbuanong Kodaker
CEBU CITY, Philippines— High school basketball superstar Jared Bahay relishes every moment left in his final year as a Sacred Heart student.
The phenomenal Cebuano point guard will bid goodbye to his alma mater, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC), next school year as he suits up for the UP Fighting Maroons in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
Bahay, considered the top high school basketball player in the country today, is on a title-retention bid for the Magis Eagles in the Cesafi Season 23 high school basketball tournament.
Despite their shaky season, Bahay is making the most of his final year with his team.
Bahay told CDN Digital that he will cherish every second he spends on the court, especially since this might be his last game as a Magis Eagle if his team loses to the equally determined University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu (UCLM) Webmasters in a do-or-die semifinals game tomorrow, Saturday, December 9, 2023, at the Cebu Coliseum.
“It’s my last year with the team, I will cherish my remaining time with my teammates because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of this group,” said Bahay.
“I will cherish every second of it until my last game with Sacred Heart School,” he added.
Jared Bahay admitted that some of his plans for his final season as a Sacred Hearter were not materialized given the string of losses his team endured during the elimination round and their semifinals defeat against UCLM on Thursday evening which forced a do-or-die game tomorrow.
“Not everything didn’t go as planned because dili ang tanan gihatag ni Lord, so naa gyud ta mga plans nga dili mahitabo, naa jud mga worse things ma overcome. We have to be resilient para ma overcome namo tanan obstacles, focus lang gyud mi sa mga games,” said Bahay.
“I’m confident, but it’s not about me carrying the team all the way to the finals, but it’s all about the team itself. It’s a team game, basketball isn’t an individual game, it’s a team effort.”
One of Bahay’s most iconic games this season was the come-from-behind win over the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers, 59-58.
Bahay, who hails from Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, dropped 19 points, including the game-winning trey to complete the Magis Eagles’ 19-point comeback win against the Baby Panthers.
Besides that, Jared Bahay led the Magis Eagles in winning the Palarong Pambansa gold medal against NCR’s National University (NU) Bullpups from the National Capital Region (NCR), 77-73, last August in Marikina City.
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