Limpag: Representing Cebu

RIGHT now, there are two professional teams that prominently carry the name of Cebu in both basketball and football and to tell you bluntly, they are both embarrassing.

Global Cebu sits at the bottom of the Philippine Football League, losing to Ceres Negros 7-1 a few days ago; the Cebu Sharks haven’t won in the MBPL and are setting records we shouldn’t be proud of--going scoreless in one quarter, for one.

But that’s not the only thing the two teams share. Global Cebu was the toast of the local football community when it started, but financial hardships, absence of updates from the new owners, turnover of players led to local fans being alienated. Ditto with the Cebu Sharks. When it was launched, fans were excited to have a Cebu team in the country’s newest community-based basketball league. But instead of reliving the era of the Cebu Gems, it’s a becoming a conversational piece that could lead to arguments.

It’s easy to readily dismiss both, saying they don’t really represent Cebu, a community with a rich football and basketball pedigree. But that would be more embarrassing, wouldn’t it? To abandon a team when it needs you most?

Another thing the two teams share--they all have players who aren’t used to losing this badly and if it embarrasses you, the fan, how much more for them, whose faces are shown on TV or on livestream in the case of Global?

Global Cebu had their moments, that draw with pocket-heavy Davao Aguilas being one of them; it’s hard to see positive moments in the Sharks but there were times and runs in previous games that made you say--that’s what I’m talking about.

So what now for both teams? I really don’t know. Both are technically “Cebu” teams in name only, being based in Manila. The Sharks have one advantage in identity as the whole team are Cebuanos. You can’t say the same for Global, but that’s modern pro football right? Still, even if they are both Manila-based, they have and they are Cebu’s representative in football and basketball.

Global Cebu is trying hard--despite the financial difficulties--to turn a corner. From not being able to form a complete squad, they had a slew of signings recently and I thought that could be the start of something new.

The Cebu Sharks, on the other hand, just had a change in coach, a few games in, which tells you that it may not have the financial problems of Global Cebu, but it may be facing similar front-office worries.

Laugh at them, sure.

Criticize them, definitely. This is sports, not politics. You can both criticize and support a team.

But come game time when they need your support, let them count on you.

It’s what both teams need now. It’s a cliché but yeah, there’s no way to go but up, because literally there’s no way to go but up for both considering they are at the bottom.

Cebu football and basketball both have rich pedigrees and histories; both have had successful players who did well on the big stage. Both are currently represented by pro clubs who are struggling to find their footing and who both badly need the support of fans.

Let’s give it to them, shall we?

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