Games today
Cebu Coliseum
For Third Place
3:30 p.m. – SWU vs USJ-R
Finals, Game 1
5 p.m. – UV vs USC
Two teams with wholly different track records are set to face off in what is expected to be a tempestuous and thrilling championship series as the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers square off against the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors in Game 1 of the 15th Cesafi men’s basketball finals series today at the Cebu Coliseum.
On one side are the Green Lancers, a team synonymous with unparalleled success in Cebu’s bustling collegiate basketball scene. No other squad has amassed more titles than UV with 10 Cesafi titles to their name.
But in spite of their massive success, the Green Lancers remain a hungry bunch after not having claimed championship glory since 2012. UV head coach Gary Cortes himself, claimed that all this is new to him and his coaching staff.
“Some of the players have been here before. Sila (Franz) Arong, (Vincent) Mendoza, (Alfred) Codilla and (Arvie) Cabanero but me and (assistant coach) Junel Maglasang have not been here before. So this is all new to us,” shared Cortes.
Cortes is only in his first year at the helm of the mighty green-and-white but has successfully turned what previously was a rowdy bunch into a focused battalion of basketball warriors, trained on one goal – to bring back the crown to the hallowed corridors of UV.
“All of them can deliver any time. As you may have seen, lain-lain ang best player of the game every time makadaug mi. All the players have prepared well and we are one team, one family that is happy to play in the finals,” added the former defensive sentinel of UV back in the day.
Standing opposite them are the Warriors, a squad that has yet to reach the league’s pinnacle but came very close last season, losing to the Southwestern University Cobras in Game Five of what was a highly-competitive championship showdown. USC has also not forgotten the wounds of yesterday; in particular, the ones inflicted by UV who denied them of titles in 2006 and again in 2007.
This year just might be USC’s time especially after claiming two victories over UV this season, the last one a 79-75 overtime victory that erased whatever confidence the latter had built with their 74-43 conquest a few weeks ago.
“I think the 31-point loss that we suffered in the second round was a good wake-up call for us. Gidukdok jud to sa amoa that we can’t take days off. I think the players came into that match thinking na kaya ra and look what happened,” said USC head coach Britt Reroma who put emphasis on the words “hunger” and “redemption” as the team’s battlecry for this finals series.
“We’re really hungry for this championship. USC has not gotten one in 15 years and we want to redeem ourselves for the finals loss last year,” Reroma added.
All eyes though will be on this series’ premier match-up between two of the league’s brightest young stars in USC’s Shooster Olago and UV’s Steve Akomo. Though the two hail from the same country – Cameroon – there will be no love lost between the compatriots with everything on the line. USC’s rebounding monster Charles Pepito – who Cortes made special mention of as someone they need to corral – is also expected to play a huge role in this series.
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