Cesafi Season 23 men’s basketball finals head to epic game 3 battle

Kernn Sesante, UC Webmasters head coach, and Gary Cortes, UV Green Lancers head coach./Sugbuanong Kodaker

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Whoever is the hungrier team wins the title.

This was the statement of University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters’ head coach Kernn Sesante as they prepared for the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Cesafi Season 23 men’s basketball finals on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Webmasters are recovering from their blowout defeat against the defending champions, the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers, with a score of 41-53 on Thursday evening at the jam-packed Cebu Coliseum.

With the title on the line, Sesante expects a tooth-and-nail finale in their storied rivalry against UV.

“Who will win Game 3 is the hungrier team. Game 2 makita gyud nato nga mas hungry ang UV, they gave all their best. We saw them going after the loose ball, diving for the ball, they were really fighting for their lives, but UC was sloppy,” Sesante explained.

He revealed that UC suffered 29 turnovers, including six straight turnovers in crunch time that led to UV establishing a double-digit lead en-route to winning Game 2.

Sesante admitted that the Webmasters virtually gave up in the fourth period, evident from their sloppy offense and excessive turnovers, while UV, according to him, was “fighting for their lives.”

“One thing that’s very obvious about this game was we had too many turnovers. During the third and fourth quarters, medyo sloppy kaayo mi sa among offense, from the start nga atong strength kay atong offense and defense, na overwhelm sad sila sa defense sa UV,” Sesante said.

He also admitted that UC’s morale went down after the loss, but there is still a sense of hunger to win their first title in 12 years.

“UV is the defending champion, and UC last won the finals 12 years ago. Obviously, we’re supposed to be the hungrier team, but we didn’t show it in this game,” Sesante said.

BATTLE ROYALE

For Gary Cortes, earning his fifth Cesafi title tomorrow won’t be easy. He shares the same prediction as Sesante, stating that both teams will throw haymakers at each other in Game 3.

Cortes views tomorrow’s Game 3 as a ‘Battle Royale’ between age-old rivals on Cebu’s biggest basketball stage.

“Sa karon, even ang series, both teams naay pressure, it’s Game 3, expect a tighter game, kung sa kuan pa, battle royale ni nga duwa,” said Cortes who is also eyeing UV’s 15th Cesafi men’s basketball title.

Amidst the pressure heading into Game 3, Cortes revealed he’s praying hard for the team to retain the title.

“Hopefully we win the title, that’s what we’re praying mo champion mi, back-to-back, mapakita namo sa management sa UV. We’re crossing our fingers ug among gi ampo namo sa Ginuo mahatag namo ug balik ang title,” said Cortes.

Tomorrow’s Game 3 is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., still at the Cebu Coliseum.

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