IT WAS my first time to join the season launching press conference of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. in years the other day and I sure didn’t regret going to the glitzy affair in Hotel Fortuna.
The University of the Visayas coach brought the house down when, in answering SunStar Superbalita Erwin Lirazan’s question, he said, “Kung dili sila mag-binulay-ug, grand slam gyud mi.” UV as always, is one the favorites to win the men’s collegiate basketball title this season and Gary Cortes knows they have a target on their back. Since they lost a couple of key players to injuries, Cortes said, they’ve been training harder than before for the 18th season in the league.
UC coach Yayoy Alcoseba, whose team lost to UV in last year’s finals, didn’t back down from Cortes’ retort and said, “Kanang UV, University of Basketball man na” a play to the often-repeated critique by some who sees UV players as full-time basketball players and once-in-a-blue-moon-classroom-visitors.
It was Yayoy’s way of saying, you want banter, I’ll give you some.
But no need to seek deeper meaning beyond those two sentences; it was just exactly that, some banter between coaches who have faced each other for years.
“UV is always a championship team,” the multi-titled coach Alcoseba continued, before adding that this season, basketball fans shouldn’t just look to UC to end UV’s grand slam ambitions but to the rest of the Cesafi teams, too.
The coach also had some sharp words for Gabriel Malagar of the Freeman, who asked their opinion regarding Cesafi’s plan to drop the fielding of foreign students in season 2021-22. Nothing wrong with the question, but I think Yayoy got piqued when the veteran Gabmals interjected after a few gave their opinions about how UV won its first nine titles sans an import, how UC did the same two years after and how some consider it an insult if a team with a foreign player only wins by two points.
“Kung malubong, muingon ang uban ‘Ah, tungod naa man import,’ kung two points ra, insulto na,” he said.
I jokingly told Gabmals, who was already a 20-year veteran when I got into the business 20 years ago, after he interjected his opinion of a question he asked,” Ngano nangutana pa man ka?’ It seemed coach Yayoy felt the same, walked back to the microphone and said “Ngango gi bring up pa man na? (history) A few years ago, Cesafi allowed two foreign players, then it was just one. Now it won’t allow. Simple, we will just follow the rules.” As for my take on the rule? My only concern is if this is limited to basketball or is applicable to all. One player may be a deciding factor in basketball, but not so in football. Just ask Lionel Messi (the Argentina version, not the Barcelona version).
Also, I’ve don’t see the issue purely from the basketball standpoint of allowing imports, but rather from the education standpoint; almost all Cesafi schools have lots foreign students who are here because they’ve learned of the quality of education of Cebu schools and not of Cebu sports.
Nevertheless, it’s going to be a rule the Cesafi members have to live with or as Coach Yayoy put it simply.
“We will follow the rules. Mao ra na.”