TO SAY that hope springs eternal for the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Cobras heading to the brand new season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) would be a huge understatement.
Head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba is very confident with his squad that the optimism is practically gushing forth.
“Night and day — that’s how different my team is from the Partner’s Cup to today. The players have improved so much individually, and we all have as well, as a team. I think we only played 30 percent of our capability during the preseason,” said the multi-titled head coach in an exclusive conversation with Cebu Daily News.
After playing through last season with just a nine-man roster, Alcoseba now has a full deck to play with.
While the usual suspects are still there, namely two-time Cesafi MVP Mac Tallo, veteran guard Jun Luz and the returning Bernie Bregondo, Alcoseba also has a few new weapons to deploy in former Perpetual Altalette star Sir Shaquille Imperial, University of Pangasinan-Phinma aces Darwin Barte and Rolly Bravo, former Adamson guard William Polican and promising Davao youngster Arnel Molina.
Former University of San Carlos gunner Ian Ortega and ex-University of San Jose-Recoletos reinforcement Quintin Luzoladio also joined the Cobras during the offseason.
“They’re more familiar with the plays and the system we run here. It’s now just a matter of control and discipline. We just want to make it to the Final Four. That’s our target first. From there, anything can happen,” added Alcoseba who steered the Cobras to two Cesafi championships in the last five years.
In spite of the firepower they possess, Alcoseba still points to last year’s runners-up, the University of the Visayas Green Lancers as the title-favorites. He considers the Cobras, the USJ-R Jaguars and the Warriors as next on the pecking order.