FOR THE University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers, life goes on in the wake of the sudden defection of their two best aces—Jun Manzo and Leonard Santillan—to the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons.
With little time left before the start of the brand-new season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), UV head coach Gary Cortes has all but accepted the reality of the situation and has encouraged his wards to do the same.
“That’s part of the challenge of being a coach. That’s their decision and we can’t do anything about that except move on,” Cortes said. “Those who chose to stay here, that’s who we’ll go with.”
Assistant coach Van Halen Parmis also shared his two cents’ worth on the matter while on vacation in London.
“It is more of mixed emotions. Happy that they are now a step closer to their dream, at the same time sad thinking that we have lost another gem, somebody we have nurtured and bonded for a bit of time. It is like losing a member of a family. But what else can we do? You talk about exposure and better deals? Manila teams have it all, maybe even more.”
While Santillan’s scoring prowess will undoubtedly be missed, it is Manzo’s departure that cuts deeper as his guile, explosiveness and toughness helped usher in a new generation of Lancer dominance. Left to man the starting point guard slot now is untested rookie Sheldon Gahi and wing-turned-point man Rey Suerte.
“Sheldon (Gahi) has really taken on the responsibility in practice and in out-of-town games and he has adjusted to the role. Rey (Suerte) has also been converted into a point guard. Sometimes, he also starts depending on the match-up,” shared team captain Josue Segumpan.
Cortes also reminded his players to always remember the school first especially when offers from other schools come.
“They always have to remember the hospitality and the goodness that the school has extended to them. They won’t be discovered if they weren’t developed by the school.”