Cebu’s long-dormant commercial basketball scene is expected to get a much-needed shot in the arm as Bogo City will have its very own squad in the upcoming Countrywide Basketball League (CWBL) to be backed by the Cebu Landmasters.
This was confirmed by Cebu Landmasters owner and sportsman Joe Soberano.
This development means that the regional basketball league created by Joe Lipa and Atty. Rey Gamboa will have two teams from Cebu with the other being the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City helmed by multi-titled head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba.
Soberano said that he, along with team consultant, Bogo City Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez, have yet to name a head coach. The affable basketball patron added that their shortlist includes former University of San Carlos head coach Britt Reroma, current University of San Jose-Recoletos head coach Jun Noel and former University of Cebu mentor, Rhoel Gomez.
They have also yet to name the members of the team as tryouts are ongoing as of press time.
The Cebu teams’ entry into the CWBL is a major boost to the development of Cebuano basketball players who have had to content themselves with barnstorming local tournaments during the Cesafi offseason with no local league in sight for this hoops-mad city.
The last time Cebu has had two teams in a single tournament was during the defunct Liga Pilipinas, where Alcoseba’s MLKP-Cebu Niños butted heads with the Mandaue-Cebu Landmasters, which ironically was backed by Soberano as well.
The Cebu commercial basketball scene has grown dry since its heyday in the late ’90s and early 2000s with leagues such as the Cebu Basketball Association and the Cebu Basketball League providing entertainment for the city’s rabid basketball fans and giving Cebuano basketball players an avenue to master their craft.
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