Magis Eagles face Jaguars, start Cesafi bid to defend high school hoops title

SHS-AdC Magis Eagles coaching staff and players pose at center court during the awarding of the Cesafi high school finals. | CDN file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The reigning high school basketball champions of the Cebu School Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles will kick off their campaign tomorrow, Thursday, September 28, 2023.

The Magis Eagles, one of the sought-after teams not just in Cesafi, but in the Philippines will take on the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Baby Jaguars at 5:15 PM. 

READ: Blue Eagles, Magis Eagles hold basketball camp in Cebu

Magis Eagles busy Cesafi off-season

In terms of preparation, the Magis Eagles had a busy Cesafi off-season which highlighted their semifinal game in the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) National Finals against UAAP high school reigning champs National University (NU) Nazareth Bullpups. 

After their promising NBTC stint, the Magis Eagles hosted several pre-season tournaments, including the 4th San Remigio Properties Inc. Invitational basketball tournament where they played against Taiwan’s  National Yilan School, the University of University of Cebu (UC) Baby Webmasters and the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Green Lancers.

They went on sweeping the basketball 5×5 in the ongoing Palarong Pambansa Pre-Qualifying Cluster Meet held in Mandaue City in June to qualify for the Palarong Pambansa in Marikina City. 

READ: Sweet revenge: Coach Rasmo praises Bahay as Magis Eagles beat NU for Palaro gold

Palarong Pambansa gold medal

One of the biggest highlights of the Magis Eagles of head coach Rommel Rasmo this season is their Palarong Pambansa gold medal last July in Marikina City.

It wasn’t just a gold medal win for the SHS AdC high school basketbll team, but also a sweet revenge against the Bullpups who they defeated in the gold medal round, 77-73, for Central Visayas in Palarong Pambansa. 

This Cesafi season of the Magis Eagles is also special as it will serve as the final year for their team captain and the Philippines No. 1 high school player Jared Bahay to suit up for the team.

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Bahay, earlier this year, officially committed to the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in the UAAP.

Meanwhile, his teammates Raffy Celis and Michael Asoro who spent their final playing year with the Magis Eagles last year committed to the Ateneo Blue Eagles. 

In their title-winning Cesafi campaign last year, the SHS-AdC high school team finished the elimination round with a near-perfect record. Their only defeat was against the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy (CBSAA) Trailblazers. 

Still, they blanked the Trailblazers, 2-0, in their best-of-three finals series to win the Cesafi high school title. 

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