The UV Baby Lancers during the CVIRAA meet’s awarding ceremony. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers aren’t leaving a single stone unturned in their preparations for the Palarong Pambansa next month that will happen in their own turf.
The Baby Lancers are tasked to protect Central Visayas’ homecourt against the country’s best high school basketball teams representing their respective regions.
UV’s coach Ronald Bucao told CDN Digital that they’ve been training smoothly as Palarong Pambansa looms.
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Bucao and fellow coach Jun Pepito have been pitting their team to various basketball tournaments to keep them active while counting the days to one of the biggest tournaments that they will be joining this year.
“Regarding sa training namo, okay ra man kaayo. Wala mi nihunong ug training since CVIRAA. Unya kaluoy sa Ginoo, healthy ra ang mga bata ug walay injuries,” said Bucao.
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Palarong Pambansa
To recall, UV stunned the erstwhile Palarong Pambansa secondary boys basketball defending champions, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) of Mandaue City, 95-69, in the semifinals of last May’s Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) meet that happened in Cebu City.
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They went on to win the gold medal in a lopsided 102-74 victory against Cebu Province, represented by Carmen National High School.
Although UV has represented Central Visayas numerous times in Palarong Pambansa, they haven’t won the coveted gold medal.
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This time, they have the homecourt advantage against the visiting regions competing in the week-long national meet.
The boys’ secondary basketball will happen at the University of San Carlos (USC) Main Campus where they won the gold medal in the CVIRAA.
UV Baby Lancers
“Siyempre advantage gyud sa Cebu ang duwa kay ato ang crowd unya ma inspire pod ang mga bata nga to give their best for all the Cebuanos,” added Bucao.
“I could say nga maka compete gyud ta sa uban regions if mosunod lng ang mga bata sa sistema. Pero ang tanan isalig ragyud namu sa Ginoo kay ang pag buot niya maoy matuman.”
But before that, UV is scheduled for a championship match against Accuhealth this weekend in the ongoing Pilipinas Super League (PSL) Global Challenge in Danao City in northern Cebu.
The team’s core is comprised of the same players that played for UV in their second-place run in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) high school basketball last December.
The team’s line-up is composed of John Dela Torre, Roderick Cambarijan, Kenneth Cole, Kent Castro, Benedict Paca, Cristopel Abellana, John Carl Baring, Jhunrel Dagatan, Marven Ravelo, Chadrich Villorai, Jireh Caro, and Neil John Bernante.