"We will fight the hardest"

Newcomers vow to pull a surprise in CESAFI basketball

As newcomers, the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu Fighting Maroons, Cebu Roosevelt Memorial Colleges (CRMC) Mustangs, Felipe R. Verallo Foundation College (FRVFC) Blue Dragons, and Benedicto College bring along with them the “underdog” tags in the forthcoming Cebu Schools Ahletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) men’s basketball tournament.

Even though they embrace that role, make no mistake about the four debutants as they vowed to “fight the hardest” and whip up a surprise in the 23rd CESAFI cage wars set to kick off on Saturday, September 23, at the Cebu Coliseum.

These teams may be first timers with ragtag players in Cebu’s premiere inter-school athletic league but by any measure they couldn’t be taken lightly by their rivals as they are handled by top caliber coaches with shining credentials.

UP Cebu’s Fighting Maroons are being guided by Rommel Rasmo, one of the winningest coaches in CESAFI history with six juniors division titles under his belt with the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHSAdC) Magis Eagles.

“My players are just first and second year college students. All rookies,” said Rasmo, who will be coaching a college squad for only the second time following his stint with the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors in 2016. “We would like to be more prepared, but I believe we have maximized all the practice time we were given.”

“Of all the teams I have handled, this blue collar team will be hardworking and relentless. We may not be the tallest, fastest nor the most talented team, but we will fight the hardest,” Rasmo assured.

Paul Alelu Flores, who piloted the Consolacion Sarok Weavers to a historic back-to-back championships in the 21 Under division of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) last year, will be calling the shots for the CRMC Mustangs.

“We really don’t have high expectations because we are one of the smallest and underdog teams,” said Flores, who played alongside PBA star Arwind Santos with the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws that bagged two straight crowns during their glorious UAAP days.

“We can’t promise to win in every game. All we can promise is that before the game we will prepare our team and that we will give our very best to represent our team well in the tournament,” Flores added.

On the other hand, the FRV Foundation College Blue Dragons are under the tutelage of the ageless Norberto “Titing” Manalili, a decorated bench tactician both in the amateur and commercial ranks whose career spans for three decades now.

“Our team is composed of homegrown players who are mostly coming from senior high. They have less expertise of the game and only depend on their talent and ability,” said Manalili, whose previous stint was with the Cebu Sharks in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). “We can’t promise anything except that that we will work as a team and show the brand of play of the ‘probinsyanos’.”

Last but not the least, Benedicto College will be mentored by BJ Murillo, a former collegiate standout but a relatively unknown strategist who silently makes his mark in small leagues.

“Majority of my players are coming from different schools in Medellin, Mandaue, Tacloban, and even Mindanao. We had practices and tune-up games to build chemistry for our team,” shared Murillo, a two-time CESAFI AllStar in his prime with the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats. “Right now, I can say that our team is all set and ready to compete against the big schools in Cebu. Our goal is to pull a surprise and make history!”.