I REMEMBER the hype during the last time the University of San Jose-Recoletos made the Cesafi finals. It was over a decade ago and the University of the Visayas had yet to suffer a loss in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. In the first five or six years of the Cesafi, nobody could beat the Lancers. They were so good that even the three papers had different tallies as to the number of wins UV had.
But, back to that story. I remember it distinctly because one enterprising reporter had one of the top commercial basketball coaches in Cebu offer his insights as to how to beat the UV Lancers. I think they also dropped by a USJ-R practice before the finals stint and I’ve always seen it as a drama that may have undermined the coaching staff of the Jaguars.
This season, all the coaching drama USJ-R had, happened in the pre-season and somehow it hasn’t affected the team.
Coach Titing Manalili was tapped just before the season was to start to handle the Cebu City Sharks, leaving assistant coach Leodi Garcia as the head coach.
Jayvie Mantilla, last year’s Most Valuable Player, said topping the regular season was the furthest thing from their mind when the season started because of that coaching change. However, he credits both the former and the current coach for the current form of the Jaguars.
“In fairness to Coach Titing, he really showed his trust to coach Leodi,” Mantilla told Jun Migallen, the host of Isports ta Bai.
Garcia, in turn, simply adopted the system Manalili had in place for the Jaguars as the abrupt change meant he really had no time to tinker with things.
So far, the Jaguars are doing well. While most thought it’s going to be a replay of a University of the Visayas and University of Cebu finals, the Jaguars quietly climbed their way to the top, eventually dislodging the two in the last game of the season to finish as no. 1.
Now, the UV vs. UC rematch will happen in the semifinals, not the finals, while USJ-R, who has been relegated to the bronze medal match for the past few years, has a real chance to make the finals again.
And standing in their way are the USC Warriors, who have never been the same since winning the Cesafi title in 2015. No. 1 vs. no. 4. Jaguars vs. Warriors.
I’m a USC alum, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the Jaguars in the finals. They surely deserve to be in it.