Coaches pick UV, SWU to battle it out for Cesafi basketball diadem

THE different coaches of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) see a bleak season ahead for their respective squads especially with the strength and firepower that the nine-time champions, University of the Visayas and last year’s losing finalists, Southwestern University, possess.

The 12th season of the Cesafi opens this Sunday at the Cebu Coliseum but as early as now, the rest of the field seemed resigned to the fact that they are merely playing for scraps after the Cobras and the Green Lancers acquired tall and talented Africans to bolster their title bids.

Echoing that sentiment was assistant coach, Jover Samonte of two-time reigning champions, University of Cebu, which will no doubt feel the sting of the absence of their 6-foot-11 behemoth from Pinamungahan, Junemar Fajardo, who has already exhausted his eligibility.

“We don’t have (Junemar) Fajardo anymore so compared to SWU and UV, I could say that these two have really strong teams. We might be able to give them a good fight but in the end, it will be very hard to match up with their height and their strength,” he said during the league’s launching the other day at the Linea Restaurant in IT Park. Aside from Fajardo, also gone is reliable power forward, Edward Pao, leaving star guard, Brian Heruela to fend for the Webmasters.

The USJ-R Jaguars, through athletic director, Dioscoro Himotas, also lamented their lack of height to battle the behemoths of both SWU and UV, which has six players 6-foot-5 and above.

“The tall players will be a problem for us. But we started preparing immediately after last season ended. Both SWU and UV will be very difficult to beat and getting an upset against them will be hard but you never can tell,” said Himotas, who said that their target mainly is to get into the “Final Four.”
USC’s newly-installed head coach, Macoy, who attained local fame with his 126-point game while playing for the Warriors way back in the 1950s, divulged a more humble target. “This is my first time as a coach here in Cebu so I really don’t know how I will be. It will be good if USC can win a game. That’s all I want for now. Our team’s size is small but I like the heart of my players,” he said. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio