THE University of the Visayas Green Lancers will finally get their prize for winning the 2016 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) as they leave for a four-day vacation in Hong Kong this afternoon.
“Basically, pahalipay ni sa mga bata. They proved that they are worthy of this trip for winning the Cesafi championship. I have emphasized to them that traveling as a whole team is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The memory and experience is more than what money can buy. They may travel abroad someday but the bonding and camaraderie that they can get out of this trip is priceless,” UV head coach Gary Cortes told SunStar Cebu.
However, aside from sight-seeing and tour, the Green Lancers are also expected to interact with the Filipino community, especially the Cebuanos working in Hong Kong as well as play an exhibition game with a college or basketball clubs.
“We have made some arrangements to play a game with either Hong Kong college basketball team or a basketball club there, coach Van (Parmis) has made some arrangement for that. And probably we can mingle with the Cebuano OFW community there. This is not just a sight-seeing tour, but we try to sweat it out as well as trying to engage with our fellow countrymen who are working there,” Cortes continued.
But before they left, the Lancers volunteered to help load the relief goods for the earthquake victims in Surigao.
“After our meeting, I suggested that we would go to the drop-in center at Fuente Osmeña to load the relief goods to the truck. I told them that it is better that we’re the one helping rather than we’re the one who needed help. They all agreed and we went to Fuente Osmeña. Timely, only women were at the drop-in center so our presence was very convenient,” Cortes explained.
The Lancers presence, however, is not just for one day, but for the coming days, as Cortes assigned the Team B players to fill in while the regular team is away on vacation.