The road to the final four for the reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) champions University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters and runners-up Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras begins today as they take on separate opponents in the 2011 Philippine Collegiate Champions League at the Ormoc Astrodome in Ormoc City.
The Webmasters are set to take on the STI Olympians, the Mindanao regional champions, while the Cobras await the winner of the Visayas regional championship game between the University of Iloilo Wildcats and the AMA Computer Learning Center Titans.
The winners in these matchups will meet tomorrow with a slot in the Final Four at stake. Also competing for a ticket to the semifinals are the Letran Knights and the NCAA runners-up San Sebastian Stags.
Already waiting in the semifinals are the UAAP champions Ateneo Blue Eagles and the NCAA champions San Beda Red Lions.
SWU head coach, Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba, who took the once ragtag Cobras squad to the cusp of a title in just his first year at the helm, is hoping that his team has learned their lessons from their loss in the recent Cesafi finals.
“Hopefully, they will be better from the experience of playing the Cesafi finals, and they will have learned their lessons from that loss,” said Alcoseba, referring to the heartbreaking Game 5 defeat they suffered at the hands of UC earlier this month.
The semifinals will be a round-robin affair that starts on Dec. 5. The top two teams at the end of that round will advance to the finals with the team with the best record attaining a twice-to-beat advantage.