Three Wildcats, including ace player, cut from roster due to academic issues
The Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats are expected to go through a rough season in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) men’s basketball tournament after losing three players—including top gun Joshua dela Cerna—due to academic issues.
The development was confirmed by Wildcats head coach Bembem Alcaraz, who told Cebu Daily News that dela Cerna and reliable reserves Mark Kong and Lawrence Mumar will not be suiting up for CIT-U this Cesafi season because of academic trouble.
The loss of dela Cerna, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, is a tough pill to swallow for Alcaraz, who was banking on the latter to combine with prized rookie find Rey Navarro in their bid to reach the league’s upper echelons.
“It’s going to be really hard. Joshua (dela Cerna) didn’t just provide points and rebounds. He was our number one option inside,” said Alcaraz, whose team will also miss the services of Allan Dimco, who has already exhausted his playing eligibility.
Things were looking bright for the Wildcats during the offseason as they did well in several preseason tournaments, including a second-place finish to the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers in a competition in Talisay City.
PLAYING SMALL
However, the bottom suddenly fell out with the recent development. In addition, veteran wingman James Ferraren, who many thought was going to make an impact, was also ruled ineligible as he apparently had no more playing years left.
“I really just told the players to double-time in practice. We’re going to be very small in the tournament so we will have to play with speed and tenacity,” Alcaraz added.
Alcaraz has already made several adjustments in the wake of the losses, placing the 6-foot-2 forward Karl Lucena to the power forward spot instead of his usual place at the three. He also expects the team’s veterans to step up, in particular Marlo Pono, Wilkins Sanchez and Steven Bucao.
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