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(first of 2 parts)
I was able to watch the third game in the current championship series between the defending champions UV Green Lancers and the USJ-R Jaguars, thanks to the kind accommodation of Dean Baldomero Estenzo and Commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy.
Actually I went to the Cebu Coliseum for the first game last October 2, but I chose not to brave the big crowd that was gathered outside the main gate. I did not expect that the response of the public and the supporters of the two teams would be as rabid as last year’s when the challengers to the UV Lancers basketball crown were the USC Warriors.
Had several reasons of watching at least one game of the championship.
I was intrigued by the effusive statement of my brother Atty. Dodong how much Greg Slaughter has improved from last year.
Also wanted to be part of history. Either the Lancers get their 8th straight championship or the Jaguars would be the team who would stop them from doing it.
It was an evening well spent and what I saw bolstered my opinion that Cebu basketball is and will always be, in the same level as Metro Manila.
My impressions.
The Teams and Players
I arrived at the Cebu Coliseum in the middle of the second quarter of the third game of the Juniors championship between the UV Baby Lancers and the UC Junior Webmasters. These were the very same squads that fought it out for the championships last year.
There were two pleasant surprises.
One is that I could not remember too many players from last year’s, in both teams. It means a swift turnover of talents, unlike in previous eras where high school varsity squads carried the same roster of players for years and years.
Question is, where do they go after high school as I know that not too many of them get slots with the college squad?
This may be a window of opportunity which CESAFI, SBP, BAP, or any other cage body can look into in order to maintain a large talent pool of players, and at the same time not lay to waste the training that these high school players received.
Guess the current MLKP under 21 tournament is the beginning of this germ of an idea, which basketball biggies in this country can nurture and develop.
I say this because the second surprise that I got seeing the high school players up close was the skill that was displayed by most of the boys.
John Pearce has the skills that can bring him places. Gerard Ampoon, who probably could not be more than sixteen years of age, handles the ball like magic. Arvie Cabañero is going to be a monster in the slot once his young body matures.
If their talents would just dissipate because they could not find a home in the bigger leagues, it definitely would be a big shame.
When the Green Lancers and the Jaguars came in, what caught my attention immediately was the body language of the two teams.
While UV came in with a swagger worthy of a defending champion, USJ-R shuffled timidly into the basketball court, as if lamb who were being led to slaughter (no pun intended Greg).
What followed after the starting buzzer caught everyone by surprise, including Coaches Boy Cabahug and Al Solis.
This was actually the first time that I saw the Jaguars in action, and they were really impressive on both ends of the court.
While their offense was impeccable, it was really USJ-R’s defense that won the game for them. Limiting a team of certified scorers like the Green Lancers to 53 points, and a behemoth like Greg Slaughter to 2 points can only mean an effective defensive strategy.
