Tag Archives: cesafi

Cebuanos to watch in 2013: June Mar Fajardo

3 Jan

June Mar Fajardo was the top pick in the 2012 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie draft.  The 6’9″ giant from Pinamungahan, Cebu has been dubbed as the country’s future premier big man.  The former University of Cebu Webmasters varsity star played first for the San Miguel Beermen in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) after an illustrious career at the CESAFI were he led UC in destroying University of the Visayas Green Lancers dynasty.  After learning that Petron, one of San Miguel Corporation‘s teams in the PBA, had the first pick in the 2012 draft, June Mar immediately decided that it was time to take his skills to the PBA.   As expected, he got drafted by the super loaded Petron team which has stars like Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot,  and Jay Washington, along with super sophomores in Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Lutz.

The expectations were so high far the vaunted Petron Blazer Boosters  (PBB) team with the addition of the highly touted Cebuano. June Mar Fajardo had 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his season debut against recently crowned Governor’s Cup champs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.  His numbers were good but the Boosters lost by 16, 86-102.  Fellow Cebuano Center and ex-Green Lancer JR Quinahan gave him a rough welcome by torching Fajardo with 13 points while having a perfect 3 for 3 in the 3-point region.  Fajardo somehow was stunned as the center of RoS can hit the trey which forced him to defend the perimeter.  Beau Belga, the tag team partner of Quinahan in RoS’ feared extra combo likewise hit 3 trifectas. It was  big contrast to Fajardo who only made 2 of 7 in his attempts in the field while shooting just 5 of 11 in the 15-foot line.

In the next time game, Fajardo only played for 16 minutes in PBB’s victory over Barako Bull and he managed to grab 7 rebounds in limited action.  June Mar had a monster game against sister team San Mig Coffee finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. It was a bittersweet performance as Petron lost again.  It became worse as it was discovered after the game they had a bizarre injury in the scrotum after unintentionally hit by Marc Pingris. He was out of action for over a month.  He came back in Petron’s victory over cellar dwellers Global Port by tallying 14 points and 7 rebounds.  He played 3 more games in the eliminations and ended up with averages of 9 points, 8.14, 0.86 steal, 1.14 blocks in 24.6 minutes of action for the 7 games he played.  Petron finished disappointing 6 wins and 8 loses in the eliminations which is only good for the 7th seed.  They faced the second seeded San Mig Coffee Mixers that gets a twice to beat advantage.

In the quarterfinal game, Fajardo was the best Petron player as he finished with 22 points, 15 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 3 blocks but PBB was eliminated 87-92.  Many fans felt that Coach Olsen Racela did not give him enough touches especially in the final period.  A lot of pundits think that June Mar Fajardo was underutilized.

The next two conferences in the PBA will be import-laced. Fajardo will be up against imports that could be bigger or taller than him in the Commissioner’s Cup.  As he nicknamed the Kraken in the PBA, he expected to sow fear underneath the boards for Petron.  He will be a player to watch as many fans would like to know if indeed he has the potential to dominate the league or he will just end up like the slow and unworthy big men of the past. If we are just looking at his upside, there has been no pure Filipino big man to be blessed with the height, heft, agility, and basketball iq of his caliber.  If he plays to his potential he can average 20 points and 10 rebounds at the minimum even against imports.  It will not happen immediately as he has to get accustomed to the PBA brand of play and he needs to possess intelligence to learn the intricacies of a pro-style offense and defense. If he does not cope, he could be like an EJ Feihl or worse a Samigue Eman.  It will definitely be interesting to see how he pans out.  It will also be exciting to see if how he and Greg Slaughter will match-up in the future.  The two were the main protagonist of some of the most memorable battles in the CESAFI.  If Fajardo and Slaughter end up to be the best big men in their generation, it is fun to know that they both started Cebu, an island known for their explosive guards rather dominating big men.

This blog’s writer will always be a big fan and a believer of June Mar. He could be the Hercules that will carry Petron to many battles ahead. Go, June Mar!!!

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Cebu Basketball Round-up (October 2012)

11 Oct

 

SWU Cobras – Champions at last (photo from sunstar.com.ph)

Cesafi Seniors:  Southwestern University wins first ever Cesafi basketball crown

The Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras won the Cebu Schools Athletic Federation Inc. (Cesafi) Collegiate Basketball Championship after beating the formidable University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers, 3-2, in a memorable best of five series. SWU won the final game 73-72 after trailing by 49-63 with less than 6 minutes to play. Coach Yayoy Alcoseba unleashed John Augustin Pajantoy to fuel the rally that gave them the improbable Game 5 victory. With a great five game series, it looks like SWU-UV rivalry will rage on in the next few years.  Will SWU keeps it title next year???

SHS-AdC wins first Cesafi title (photo from Sunstar.com.ph)

Cesafi Juniors: Sacred Heart School- Ateneo de Cebu goes undefeated en route to its first Cesafi High School title

The Sacred Heart School- Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles capped their amazing season by sweeping the UV Baby Lancers , 3-0, in their Cesafi High School basketball championship series.  It was sweet revenge for the Magis Eagles that lost the title last year in a decisive Game 5 against the Baby Lancers. The series sweep upped the record of the Magis Eagles to 14-0 in this year’s competition.  Arc Gabrielle Araw-Araw scored 19 points to lead SHS-AdC in its game 3 victory. The sweep underscored the SHS-AdC dominance in Cesafi High School ball in the past couple of months. Will this be the start of a Magis Eagles dynasty in the Casafi?

UAAP Seniors: Greg Slaughter caps collegiate career with another title with Ateneo

Former UV big man Greg Slaughter finished his college career by winning another title with Ateneo Blue Eagles.   The Eagles completed its drive for five as they beat the hard-fighting University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers. With the victory, Slaughter also completed his drive for five as he won his 2nd title with Ateneo along with his 3 Cesafi collegiate titles with the UV Green Lancers. He was once again selected into the UAAP Mytical Five this year. Ever since Slaugher moved to Manila, the UV Green Lancers has never won another Cesafi title.  Is this the end of the Slaughter Curse for UV??

 

UAAP Juniors: Pingoy leads Baby Tams to its first Junior’s title in 25 years

25 years ago, a point guard named Johnny Abarrientos led the FEU Baby Tamaraws to a UAAP Junior’s division title. Fast forward 2012, another spectacular guard led the Baby Tams to another title.  Former University of Cebu basketball player Jerie Marlon Pingoy scored 32 points in the clinching triple overtime game against the NU Bullpups. Pingoy is the back to back junior’s MVP of the UAAP. After the championship, Pingoy now becomes one the blue chip recruits in next’s year UAAP cage wars.  Will he be donning the Tamaraws jersey or will he be wearing different colors next year?

 

PBA: June Mar Fajardo debuts with Petron

After Greg Slaughter left UV, the University of Cebu Webmasters had a two-year reign of terror behind the behemoth from Pinamungahan named June Mar Fajardo.  After his college career ended, Fajardo played for San Miguel in the Asean Basketball League. When it was announced that Petron (San Miguel’s PBA team) got the first pick of the 2012 PBA Draft, the big man decided to join the PBA. As expected, he was this year’s top over-all pick.  He got his baptism of fire when the Petron Blaze Boosters played the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in their season debut. He finished with 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 38 minutes of action. He had decent numbers but he was outplayed by JR Quinahan, a former UV Green Lancer. Petron was routed 102-86.  Petron won its next game over Barako Bull and Fajardo finished with 3 points and 7 reounds.  With the possible entry of Greg Slaughter in the PBA next year, will their rivalry be renewed in the country’s top league?

 

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Cesafi 12th season opens today

28 Jul

The 12th season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi). opens today with high school and college basketball match-ups between the University of San Carlos (USC) and the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R).  The opening game at 4:30 will pit the Baby Warriors and the Baby Jaguars while their college counterparts will be featured in the main game at 6pm at the Cebu Colisuem.

Before the cage wars start, the CESAFI will select this year’s Ms. CESAFI.

The 2012 CESAFI college basketball tournament while have 7 teams while 9 teams will battle for the high school title. The defending champions are the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters for college while the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers for high school.

UC will have a less than stellar line-up compared to last year as center Junmar Fajardo have moved on the San Miguel Beer squad in the Asean Basketball League after completing all his years of eligibility in the CESAFI. The other schools have recruited foreigners to reinforce their line-ups. The Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras will add Benoit Mbala to its formidable frontline that has fellow Cameroonian Justine Aboude. Perennial contenders University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers signed up Steve Cedrick Akomo to man the slot. Filipino-Chinese guard Stephen Que will debut with USC today.  Legendary Warrior Julian Macoy will make his coaching debut for USC. Macoy was know for scoring a record 126 points for USC in his playing days.

All teams will play each other once in the elimination round. The team with the top record after the round-robin gets an automatic semifinal spot while the 3 other spots will be decided via play-off.

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Cesafi finals: UC 1win away from back to back titles; High school series tied

1 Nov

Cebu Colisuem – The University of Cebu Webmasters are one win away from capturing its second consecutive Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) college basketball crown. After taking Game 1 87-84, the UC Webmasters needed overtime to down the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras , 91-84, in Game 2 of their best of five series.

The game was very close between the two evenly-matched finalists. The defending champions UC controlled the first 3 quarters before the Yayoy Alcoseba-mentored SWU made daring 15-4 run to grab the lead, 68-66, with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Big man June Mar Fajardo knotted the game at 68-all but Cobra’s Joseph Nalos responded with a one-man 5-0 blitz to lead SWU to 73-68 lead. UC’s Luigi Bercede and SWU’s Rene Pacquiao exchanged twinners for 75-70 score. UC then scored the last 5 points in regulation. The last came from Bercede who was in the charity stripe with a chance to win the game if he made both of his free throws but he only made one to extend game for another 5 minutes.

UC started the overtime with a 6-0 run behind the efforts of Fajardo and Robinson Mohammad. The fouling out of 6-6 center Justin Aboude made matters worse for the Cobras as UC took advantage and built a 10-point spread with less than a minute left in overtime. UC just let the clock run out for their second straight victory in the finals series.

High school series tied

The University of the Visayas Baby Lancers seemed to be determined to make sure that a basketball title will be awarded to their school this year as they upended last year’s runner-up Sacred Heart School- Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles ,81-56, in Game 2 of the high school finals series. The 25-point rout avenged UV’s 82-94 loss in the opening game of their best of five series.

The Magis Eagles actually started very strong in Game 2 as they took a 22-12 after the first ten minutes of play. UV, however, owned the second period as they  outscored and out hustled SHS-AdC 30-11 for a 42-33 halftime lead. The onslaught continued in the 3rd period as the Baby Lancers extended the lead to 19 before coasting in the 4th period and settling for an emphatic 25-point victory.

One of the keys of the game was UV’s defense that held burly Julius Cadavis to just 5 points. UV also spoiled the return of Energen Pilipinas Under 16 youth team member Renzar Henry Asilum, who just scored 2 points in the game.

Andres Desiderio and Ron Dennison led UV with 19 and 16 points , respectively, while Patrick Go had 16 points for the Magis Eagles.

3rd Placers

The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Baby Panthers drubbed dethroned champs Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons for third place in the high school division. The third placing in college was earned by the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors after beating the UV Green Lancers.

 

The scores

UV (81) – Desiderio 19, Dennison 16, Peralta 12, Oche 11, Delos Santos 8, Lucero 8, Ugsang 3, Fernandez 2, Tudio 2

SHS-AdC (56) -   Go 16, Ochea 13, Yu 9, Cadavis 5, Suarez 3, Igna 2, Lim 2, Asilum 2 Halftime: 42-33


UC (91) – Fajardo 23, Heruela 18, Mohammad 17, Bercede 15, Pao 7, Ampoon 5, Caytuna 4, Labolabo 2

SWU (84) – Nalos 26, Pacquiao 18, Aboude 15, Guillena 7, Armecin 5, Bregondo 4, Casquejo 4, Ortuyo 3 Halftime: 43-35

 

 

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CESAFI Basketball: SWU ousts UV

27 Oct

For the first time in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Basketball tournament history, the University of the Visayas Green Lancers will not be participating in the finals. UV won the first 9 basketball championships of the CESAFI and last year was the first time that another school hoisted the crown. The slide continues as the Green Lancers failed to beat the Sotuhwestern University (SWU) Cobras in their do or die semifinal battle. With the victory, SWU earned the right to face the defending champions University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters in the 11th CESAFI finals.

The SWU Cobras mentored by legendary Cebuano coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba is seeking its first ever Cesafi title. Their match against the Green Lancer’s was one-sided but hotly contested and highly emotional. Several players were ejected including UV coach Donbel Belano. The game ended with the score of 74-53 in the Cobras favor. The game was actually cut short by Commissioner Felix Tiukonhoy with 54.9 left on the clock.

Suspensions are given to UV’s Edrian Lao, Phil Mercader, John Abad and Rene Saycon and coach Belano. UV team manager Sam-Sam Gullas apologized on behalf of his team and he informed the media that the 4 players will not play in their series against the USC Warriors.

A new era has began in Cebu college basketball, UV ended a streak of ten straight finals appearances and it is not surprising for some players and fans to get emotional. Hopefully, the Green Lancers will learn from defeat and start getting hungry again.

As for the finalists, it is a very intriguing match-up as the Top 2 teams after the elimination will be facing off for the crown. Will Junmar Fajardo end his college career with a title? Will the boys of Coach Yayoy Alcoseba spoil the UC farewell party? We will know soon as more drama unfolds at the Cebu Coliseum.

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Cesafi Jrs.: Defending Champs fall; SHS-AdC and UV in the finals

25 Oct
Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu

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The defending Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Juniors divion basketball champions, Cebu Eastern College Dragons, came down fighting but their efforts were not enough to deny Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu a spot in the finals. SHS-AdC Magis Eagles dethroned CEC in their do or die semifinal match, 82-76, and the right to face the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers for 2011 juniors basketball plum.

The Eagles dominated the whole game, even leading double digit leads in the 3rd period. The Dragons made a furios rally in the final period to cut down the lead to just 3 points, 74-77, with less than two minutes left in the game. The Magis-Eagles, however, were very steady at the free throw line to finally eliminate the team that beat them in last year’s finals.

Jari Igna top scored for Magis Eagles in their victory with 20 points. He got help from center Julius Cadavis’ 18 points and Maverick Suarez’s 11. Dawn Ochea was held to 9 points. The magis Eagles played without guard Henry Asilum who is in Vietnam playing for the Philippine U16 Youth Team.

The dethroned champions were led by the 20 markers of Marvin Bauya. Neil Sumayang and Alfred Sedillo chipped in with 19 and 12 points respectively.

 The scores

SHS-AdC (82) – Igna 20, Cadavis 18, Suarez 11, Sing 9, Ochea 9, Yu 6, Go 3, Lim 2, Segador 2

CEC (76) - Bauya 20, Sumayang 19, Sedillo 12, Huevos 9, Roxas 9, Yap 5, Zosa 1, Berdera 1 Halftime: 38-34
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11th Cesafi: SWU clinches twice to beat advantage

14 Oct
Southwestern University (Philippines)

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The Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras coached by Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba completed its sweep of the second round of 11th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season as they beat the defending champions University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, 71-68. The win clinched the second seed for them and the twice to beat advantage in the semifinals.

 

There were many heroes in their latest win against UC. Rene Pacquiao made a jumper to tie the game at 68-all. Cameroonian center Justin Aboude hit a rare mid-range shot to take the lead at 70-68 with under a minute left in the game. Eleazar Armecin and Joseph Nalos who made crucial steals at crunch time. Bonifacio Guillena, Jr. scored 20 points to keep up with the Webmasters in the earlier periods. The win was a total team effort and SWU will be up against the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers. They have won their previous 2 meetings with the Lancers.

The loss did not affect UC’s No.1 seeding but it wasted the 28 point effort by behemoth Junmar Fajardo. UC will be enjoying a twice to beat advantage over the 4th seeded University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors.

The scores

SWU (71) – Guillena 20, Pacquiao 20, Aboude 12, Armecin 9, Nalos 4, Ortuyo 3, Arong 2

UC (68) – Fajardo 28, Heruela 13, Mohammad 8, Ampoon 7, Bercede 6, Auditor 4, Batino 2. Pao 0

Halftime: 32-34

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11th Cesafi: SWU living up to preseason billing, repeats over UV

11 Oct
Southwestern University (Philippines)

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A few weeks before the 11th season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) basketball tournament started, the coaches are unanimous in saying that the Southwestern University  (SWU) Cobras are one of the favored teams this season. They attribute the hype to the reentry of legendary coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba to the collegiate scene. Alcoseba has won countless of trophies for the M.Lhullier team and he is widely considered as one of the best coaches south of Manila.

For the first few weeks, that Cobras were falling short of the high expectations that were bestowed upon them by pundits. They had close losses to USC Warriors, USP Panthers, and UC Webmasters. Many thought they will falter from their preseason billing. They suddenly woke up and got a win against the powerhouse UV Green Lancers to start a winning run. They were just learning how to win and when they got the confidence, the Cobras struck to win many basketball games.

Last weekend, the SWU Cobras repeated over UV to tie their records to 8-3 with one more game left in the preliminaries. The Cobras rallied in the second half after being down 26-35 at the intermission. Bonifacio Guillena Jr. scored 22 markers to lead 3 other Cobras in double digits in the 71-67 victory over Felix Belano coached Green Lancers. Eleazar Armecin, Justin Aboude, and Rene Pacquiao finished with 19, 13, and 11 points respectively. The Lancers were led by Edwin Lao, Rene Saycon, and Jerome Silva who scored 14 points each.

The win is fifth for SWU in the second round. Should SWU hurdle the defending champs UC Webmasters, they will clinch the No.2 seed going to the semi-finals.  It would mark the first time in CESAFI history that the University of the Visayas will have no twice to beat advantage in the knockout phase. UV will play USP Panthers in their last game of the eliminations.

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Greg Slaughter gets UAAP title with Ateneo Blue Eagles

1 Oct
The Blue Eagle, the university's adopted symbo...

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After winning CESAFI titles while with the UV Green Lancers, Greg Slaughter continued his amazing college career by capturing a UAAP title while playing with the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles. Ateneo went 16-1 with the Cebuano-American behemoth manning the post.

Slaughter will now make a decision on where to go next. Will he stay in Ateneo or will he go pro? It is one of the things that Philippine basketball fans will be finding out in the coming months. In his post-game interview, he is still undecided. He also gave thanks to his coaches after winning the UAAP title including Rajko Toroman, Al Solis, and Boy Cabahug.

Congratulations Greg! WTG Ateneo!!!

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UAAP Season 74: Greg Slaughter part of the Mythical 5

19 Sep

Former Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) MVP was selected as a member of UAAP Season 74 Mythical 5. He finished second in the MVP race to super freshman Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. of the NU Bulldogs. For Season 74, Slaughter’s per game averages are 13.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.9 blocks. His field goal shooting clip is 50.77% while he makes 61.36% of his free throw attempts. He had a double-double in 7 of the 14 games in eliminations.

Joining Slaughter in the Mythical 5 are MVP Ray Parks, fellow Gilas bigman Aldrech Ramos, King Falcon Alex Nuyles, and Season 74 Rookie of the Year Kiefer Ravena.

In 15 games playing for the Blue Eagles, Greg Slaughter has led the team to a 14-1 record. They will be facing the Bert Flores-coached FEU Tamaraws in the UAAP best of three finals starting this Saturday, September 24. The game will be aired live at ABS-CBN Channel 2.

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