CESAFI playoffs

The CESAFI 2013 basketball tournament has been  interesting one, hasn’t it? It has had its own share of punches being thrown, a monobloc stool smashed to pieces, the temporary confines of an air-conditioned venue (first and last?), ineligible players, more imports, and before I forget, basketball action. So if you thought we’ll write about all the trivial sidelights, sorry but I’m not here to even bother talking about it. After all, beyond all these have been intensely fought games that have brought us to the tournament within the tournament. The real action begins with the CESAFI playoffs which kicks off today.

The dust has cleared and both the collegiate and high school divisions are left with the top four teams remaining. So far, no surprises were sprung and SWU earned a free ride to the semifinals by topping the elimination round, while UV, USC and USJR made it to the semis with quarterfinal wins over and USPF, UC and CIT-U, respectively. It also won’t go unnoticed that the teams with imports make up the top three spots, with USJR the only team without the luxury of fielding one, unless you consider the Parkers to be their imported versions. Before the season started, everyone was already talking about a SWU title, with everything else left to fight for seconds. The same pattern was set during the elimination round where SWU dominated the opposition, save for a few scary moments against USC.  But with all teams starting from scratch, all teams have equal chances of winning it all now. The semifinals is a double round robin affair, thus giving all teams a second chance of making it to the finals. While an undefeated 6-0 slate is safe to make it to the finals, going 5-1 or 4-2 may also be good enough,  depending on the circumstances. Can SWU then streak to a 13-0 winning streak this season? Or will UV and USC pull off surprise wins? All roads lead to a SWU-UV finals for as second straight year. More than imports, the combination of Coaches Yayoy Alcoseba and Mike Reyes is practically unbeatable. USC has an outside chance of making it but this depends on how they fare against UV. Moreover, the situation of Coach Junthy Valenzuela is a fragile one. Will he be on the USC bench in the semis? So far, we haven’t  received word about any penalty for his outburst Friday night, but I’m pretty sure a suspension is already a given. I’d  really love to see USJR make it to the finals with its all Filipino crew, but I also have to be realistic. But do you know how tough it is to beat SWU twice? Then UV twice also? The ball may be round indeed, but it’s rounder on the SWU and UV’s side.

If the college division paves a clear path for a SWU-UV finals, the high school side is an open one. Although SHS-Ateneo de Cebu swept the elimination round, UV, USC and CEC are capable of defeating the defending champs on a good day. The Magis Eagles are on a 22-game winning streak dating back to 2012 and the danger here is that the law of averages dictate that they might just lose a game soon. The challenge for Coach Rommel Rasmo is to make sure that his charges forget about any streak and go into the games one at a time.  The other three teams form an interesting triangle of being even across the board. In the elimination round, UV beat USC, but lost to CEC. CEC beat UV, but lost to USC. UV and CEC bowed to SHS-AdC by wide margins while USC hung on tough in a close loss to the defending champions. That’s how tight the high school division is. While the trending might point to a sure slot for the defending champs in the finals, the race is wide open. USC is on a roll of sorts, peaking at the right time. UV and CEC though, are in a roller coaster ride, playing well at times, but also losing their touch as well. At the end of the day, the teams with better preparation and that are better shape will come out on top. I’m looking at SHS-AdC, USC and CEC fighting for the top two slots in a very close battle that might even need the quotient tiebreaker when the semifinal round ends.

So let the games begin. The real games, I mean, with the start of the CESAFI semifinals. It’s going to be a fast and furious one with games to be played daily starting today until Thursday. The weekend will serve as a break for the CESAFI All-Star games before the semis goes into a second round. The top two teams at the end of the semis then face off for the championship which start the week of September 23.

***

Time-out: Happy birthday to Coach Sai Bacalso. >>> Paging DPWH: Any update on the portions of the Cansaga to Tayud Consolacion road that are not yet cemented? Please don’t tell me this is another Napoles gimmick. >>> You can reach me at [email protected].