How does a team go 14-0 in a season? How does a team defy the so-called “law of averages” and win every game it plays in a tournament? To the guys called the Magis Eagles, it was sweet yet at the same time difficult and arduous. It surely didn’t come easy and wasn’t given on a silver platter. Yet at the end of it all, it was mission accomplished. More importantly, it didn’t happen overnight.
Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu’s basketball program wasn’t even heard of in the juniors (high school) scene around three to four years ago. The traditional powers would always be the University of the Visayas (UV) and University of Cebu (UC). UV and UC dominated the CESAFI Juniors scene between 2000-2008. Yet in 2009, SHS-Ateneo re-joined its colleagues from the defunct CAAA in the CESAFI 2009 season. And the questions arose. Will they replicate their role of doormat and whipping boys from their CAAA days? Will they still be the same healthy kids of rich families riding in fancy cars and sporting the latest models of Nike? At that point in the timeline of their revitalized basketball program, SHS-Ateneo had won one championship in the SBP division (Under 12) and two Passerelle (Under 15) division titles in the Milo-backed BEST Center SBP Passerelle Twin Tournaments. But this wasn’t the Juniors division which to Cebu fans is the real show in town for high school hoops.
On its first year in the CESAFI, the Magis Eagles finished with a decent top five finish. It sure was a good improvement from the bottom. A year later, the team made it all the way to finals where it was swept by Cinderella team Cebu Eastern College (CEC) in three games. Yes, the team was blanked, a feat that sounds so familiar this year. While CEC was destined to win the 2010 title, fans were already talking about a sure title for SHS-Ateneo in the following year (2011) since the team was intact. Little did people know that three key players packed their bags in the summer of 2011 to play for San Beda in Manila. One of them was Ar-G Araw-araw who returned to Cebu this year and played a major role in the 2012 championship. SHS-Ateneo bowed to UV in the 2011 finals in five games, blowing a ten-point fourth quarter lead in Game 5, and ended up a bridesmaid a second year in a row. To the team, the 2-3 loss felt like another 0-3 loss. It was good only for a silver medal finish. The harder part to accept was that the 2011 team was ripe for a title if it had stayed intact.
And so another CESAFI season kicked off. Ironically, on paper, this year’s team wasn’t as strong as the 2011 edition. Gone were the likes of Enzoi Asilum (UP Maroons), Julius Cadavis (Arellano), Dave Yu (NU), Patrick Go, Mavii Suarez (Arellano), Alex Lim, Dandan Tecson and Aaron Sing. Preparing for 2012 was a case of reinventing the focus/purpose for playing, rebuilding the cast on hand, the arrival of a prodigal son, the second lease on life of a transferee and a newfound raw talent. Arc Gabriel “Ar-G” Araw-araw returned from San Beda with a fresh outlook and vowed to lead the team’s cause for a title that eluded them in 2011. Rendell Senining’s patient wait while serving residency at his father’s alma mater made him hungrier to win. Fletcher Criss Galvez brought his talents, nose for the ball and excellent grades from the Tanjay City National Science High School. Joining them were the reliable senior holdovers in CESAFI 2012 MVP Dawn Hynric Ochea, Jorine Cercado, Bro Catan, NJ Fabian and Miggy Competente. Another holdover from last year was Jair Igna. They were joined by this year’s rookies in Gio Laguyo, Janjan Jaboneta, Lucky Ecarma, Emman Malazarte, Arnie Padilla and Arnold Dy. Although not a “strong” line-up on paper, Coach Rommel Rasmo whipped the team into a fighting, grind it out squad that vowed to end the run of bridesmaid finishes. The summer featured training trips to Manila and Bacolod where they faced topnotch opposition. They also won a pre-season tournament in Ormoc featuring Cebu-based teams. When CESAFI rolled around, the Magis Eagles were ready. They went 8-0 in the elimination round, 3-0 in the semifinals and 3-0 in the finals. 14-0! Going 14-0 sounds easy but it wasn’t. Learning from past mistakes counted a lot, including the upset loss and wake up call to CIT-U in 2011 and losing to UV in Game 5 of the 2011 finals. From all this came hard practices, tedious game preparation, detailed scouting and a drive to excel. At the end of the day, 14-0 meant a first every CESAFI or CAAA championship in school history.
Looking back, SHS-Ateneo de Cebu President Fr. Manny Uy, SJ stressed among the athletes the bottom line need to reflect on the purpose for playing for a championship. He said that while the school will push for champions, for heroes, a more important goal was to build champions with character, champions for life. Using one’s talents wasn’t for selfish personal gains, but for something else bigger, higher and more important. He added that if a team plays for the right motives, good things will come its way. The battlecry will always be AMDG, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
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Time-out: It’s official. The Azkals play Singapore in an international friendly game in Cebu! November 15 at the Cebu City Sports Center. Mark the date!
You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.