Top 100 Cebuano personalities: The Gullas Brothers

CEBU, Philippines — Brothers Eduardo “Eddiegul” and Jose “Dodong” Rivera Gullas have certainly left an indelible mark as sportsmen par excellence.

Eddie Gullas chiseled a name for himself in the Philippine hoopdom as the first Cebuano basketball tactician to win the coveted “Coach of the Year” by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA). He achieved the feat in 1957 after steering the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers to the 2nd National Inter-Collegiate title at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila. They clipped the wings of NCAA champions Ateneo Blue Eagles in the final, 74-63, in the first ever televised game in Phl basketball history.

Eddiegul’s younger brother Dodong Gullas was UV’s co-captain at the time alongside the late Eduardo ‘Skipper’ Cabahug.

For his stunning accomplishment, Eddiegul was honored as “Man of the Year” by the Philippines Free Press.

In the 1970s, Eddiegul established the Gullas Cup, a developmental tournament for young aspiring cagers that has produced some of the country’s brightest hardcourt stars through the years.

Like his big brother, Jose “Dodong” Gullas also guided the UV Lancers to fame on the national stage in the late ‘1960s. He called the shots when UV stunned the UE Red Warriors, coached by the legendary Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, in the semifinals of the 1967 National Inter-Collegiate Championship in Manila. They eventually bagged the crown after edging the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras in the tournament’s first all-Cebu finals.

As UV’s team manager, Dodong Gullas spurred the Lancers to a pair of National Inter-Collegiate plums - the first was in 1974 at the USC-Main gym when they bested the La Salle Green Archers led by Lim Eng Beng who went on to become one of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players. Two years later in Baguio City, they made it a golden double after they bested the UE Red Warriors for the championship.

Dodong Gullas also gained distinct honor as head of Cebu’s premiere inter-school athletic league in three different eras. First in 1971 when he was installed as president of the Cebu Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the precursor of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI). He went on to take reins of the league when it became the Cebu Amateur Athletic Association (CAAA) two times in 1989 and 1999. Finally in 2005, he assumed as CESAFI president.

In 2015, Dodong Gullas was the Presidential Awardee of the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) for his contribution and dedication to the development of Cebu sports, specifically in the field of tennis. He founded the JRG Gullas Cup, a tried and tested breeding ground of Cebuano tennis champions since its inception in 1995. It now takes pride as a Group 1 event under the Unified Tennis Philippines (UTP).

The greatness of the Gullas brothers are firmly engraved in the hallowed portals of  Cebu Sports Hall of Fame. (FREEMAN)