Jed Cedrick Colonia of SHS-AdC lays it up against the defense of the University of Cebu in this photo of a Cesafi juniors basketball tournament game last month.
CDN file
COME Game 1 of the best-of-three finals series in the juniors division of the 15th Cesafi basketball tournament, a lot will be placed on the shoulders of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu’s (SHS-AdC) guard Jed Cedrick Colonia.
But it’s nothing he won’t be able to handle, considering he has already helped shoulder the load of the country when he represented the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association Under-16 Championship earlier this year.
The 6-foot guard, who is considered to be the Magis Eagles’ stabilizing force in what has been a perfect season so far, concurs that it was indeed his stint with the national youth team dubbed as the “Batang Gilas” that provided him with the boost to lift his game to the next level, in so doing ramping up SHS-AdC’s bid for a third straight title.
“My exposure in the Batang Gilas team helped me a lot. It boosted my self confidence. The will to improve everyday and my love for basketball are my motivations. My coaches are also there to push me to work hard in practice and at home,” shared the 16-year old, who in the absence of backcourt mate Andrew Velasco will be leaned upon to do all of the little things that have sparked the Magis Eagles to 12 straight victories.
“I’m ready. It’ll be hard, but I’ll just take it one step at a time, play by play, and let the game come to me,” he added on the eve of the start of their Cesafi finals match-up with the upstart University of Cebu (UC), a team that is raring to once again reach the apex of Cebu high school basketball, a peak they have not scaled in seven years.
Colonia credits his father with getting him started with the sport but ultimately, he said that it was his classmate that got him to try out for the school team back in second grade.
“I started playing basketball when I was a kid. I watched my dad play basketball in the 10-foot ring and I would be in the little five-foot ring until I could reach the higher ring. I also kept watching highlights of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and many other NBA stars. Then my classmate invited me to try out for the basketball team when I was in Grade 2.”
In training for the Batang Gilas, Colonia got the opportunity to play against some of the best UAAP and NCAA squads and did not, not once, back away. Come Game 1, expect the plucky guard to be right at the forefront for the Magis Eagles, carrying the load as only he can.