Cebu basketball on the rebound

CEBU – The signs are of Cebu Basketball are indeed looking good. A quick review of what has happened since June is a good indicator of how far we’ve gone and how much more we can do in the future.

The hands-down biggest story of local basketball would have to be the CESAFI 2008 season that topped all previous CESAFI basketball tournaments. The University of the Visayas (UV) Lancers won its eighth straight championship before full-house crowds through all four games of the series. The crowds were louder, rowdier and wilder this year, thanks primarily to the more balanced competition especially among the top five teams of the league. The UV-USC semifinals series and more elimination round games also filled up the Cebu Coliseum, something the league or Cebu as a whole hasn’t seen in a long time. The finals was such a hit that scalpers and makers of fake tickets made a killing.

Greg Slaughter and Junmar Fajardo literally stood tall in leading a new breed of college players to hoops stardom. CESAFI’s talents are now hot blue chip prospects that Manila scouts have been a common sight at the games. The loose talk is that some key high school and collegiate players have already committed to transfer to big name college teams in Manila . The biggest show in local basketball just got even bigger and there’s no stopping it from being even greater next year.

In the semipro scene, the Cebu/ML Kwarta Padala Niños cruised to the Liga Pilipinas championship in style. Bannered by the wards of Coach Yayoy Alcoseba and Michel Lhuillier, Cebu dominated the entire tournament, winning all its legs or mini tournaments. They then blitzed right through the competition in the playoffs, losing only a solitary game on the way to sweeping Taguig Batang Global in the championship. Winning regional league championships have now become a habit for the M. Lhuillier ballclub. But what’s next for them? Are they satisfied with just being the big fish in a small pond or shouldn’t they be going for bigger, more prestigious championships? It’s time to raise the bar.

In the youth basketball scene, the University of San Carlos North Campus (USC NC) bagged the Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) division of the Milo sponsored BEST Center SBP/Passerelle twin basketball tournaments. Sacred Heart School Jesuit won its second straight Passerelle championship, priming itself to challenge the traditional powerhouses of youth basketball. Like the CESAFI, the championship games drew full-house crowds at the Capitol Parish Gym. Cebu Basketball can now claim to be solidly stacked with basketball action from players as young as 12 years old all the way to the collegiate ranks. Next crucial step is ensure that this continuity of basketball activities strengthens the total basketball family.

Amidst all these, believe it or not, there are no TV coverages and no big name commercial sponsors. It’s all simple, pure and unadulterated basketball without the fanfare and frills of commercial league ball.

And there’s more. Next for the CESAFI’s UV, USJR, USC and UC is the Philippine Collegiate Champions’ League. UV is automatically seeded in the tournament’s Sweet 16 round while the three other teams will have to work their way through the Regional eliminations.

The Futures Basketball League of Coach Mike Reyes fires off in November and will run through the first week of December. This is a tournament for Under 13 and Under 10 year old teams. The NBTC D-League also kicks off in November and will run all the way to the summer of 2009. This is for Cebu ’s top Under 16 players. The third season of the VAAA also fires off in November, with CESAFI teams mixing it up with other teams from Ormoc, Dumaguete and Bohol .

So who said all’s quiet in Cebu Basketball? Basketball action continues to pack up the calendar all year-round, something we haven’t felt in a long time. This is what we need to bring Cebu Basketball back to its status as a producer of the country’s top players. Although things aren’t perfect, it’s pretty obvious that everything is on the right track.

On the right track to making that big rebound.

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Time-out: Let’s not forget to pray the Holy Rosary in this month of October.You can reach me at [email protected]. – THE FREEMAN