Fair Play: Throwback Thursday in Cesafi Game 5
(This column came out in the Oct. 5 edition of Sun.Star Cebu)
I THINK the basketball gods put on the Green Lancers’ cap the past few days, and in homage to the time of the UV’s reign as Cebu’s best basketball squad, joined the Throwback Thursday craze as they watched UV reclaim the title.
With the title on the line, and the fans packed to the rafters at the derelict Cebu Coliseum, the scoreboard and shot clock went bonkers, postponing Game 5 for a couple of hours.
That delay was a first in Cesafi history.
And in a move that would surely earn him more vitriol from his haters and love from his supporters, Mayor Mike Rama stepped in and played the mediator.
And, after the delay, both teams agreed to continue playing, sans a shot clock and a
scoreboard. Game 5 in 2013 became a throwback to the days when basketball games were held with the barker also doing the shot clock and scoreboard duties.
Love him or hate him, for me, the most important words Mayor Rama said during Game 5 weren’t the ones he used to convince both teams to continue playing, it was when he said,” Cebu needs a better coliseum.”
Right on, Mayor. Right on. Interestingly enough, the first time I referred to that outdated venue in a sports story when I started writing back in 1997, it was still called the New Cebu Coliseum. Along the way, I think the sportswriters decided to drop the word “new” when mentioning it because there is nothing new in that venue.
Cebu needs a better coliseum, and we needed that ages ago.
And judging from how the reception of the SWU-UV series, the (really) new Cebu Coliseum would be paying for itself. Can you just imagine having Game 5 in a spanking new venue, one that rivals Lapu-Lapu City’s Hoops Dome? The scoreboards and shot clocks won’t be an issue. And it’s not just Cesafi basketball that the new venue could host, there’s the Milo basketball tournaments, the various alumni leagues, and if you want big time sports, there’s the Pinoy Pride boxing series.
So how about that dear Mayor Mike? Let’s have that really new Cebu Coliseum.
DYNAMO CUP. Dynamo FC, a club formed in 2012, will be holding one of the rare football tournaments down South on Sunday. The Dynamo Cup, a youth tournament, will be held at the East Visayan Academy.
Aside from holding the event down South, this event differs from the rest because it’s homage to Talisay Razkals coach Rosner Bollozos, who, despite limited resources, managed to turn a diverse group of kids into championship contenders.
What more could the Talisay City kids do, given the right support?
That’s the question the Dynamo Cup seeks to answer as the tournament hopes to become a window for the kids to hone their skills, and of course, to raise funds for their training.
Another interesting aspect of their tournament is the centralized scheduling and monitoring of teams and a dedicated proctor for each age bracket. Normally, teams monitor their own schedules, lest they be forfeited, and it would be interesting how these changes work as they could be the new “normal” in football festivals.
So, if you’re free on Sunday, check out the Dynamo Cup.
(www.cebufootball.blogspot.com)
I THINK the basketball gods put on the Green Lancers’ cap the past few days, and in homage to the time of the UV’s reign as Cebu’s best basketball squad, joined the Throwback Thursday craze as they watched UV reclaim the title.
With the title on the line, and the fans packed to the rafters at the derelict Cebu Coliseum, the scoreboard and shot clock went bonkers, postponing Game 5 for a couple of hours.
That delay was a first in Cesafi history.
And in a move that would surely earn him more vitriol from his haters and love from his supporters, Mayor Mike Rama stepped in and played the mediator.
And, after the delay, both teams agreed to continue playing, sans a shot clock and a
scoreboard. Game 5 in 2013 became a throwback to the days when basketball games were held with the barker also doing the shot clock and scoreboard duties.
Love him or hate him, for me, the most important words Mayor Rama said during Game 5 weren’t the ones he used to convince both teams to continue playing, it was when he said,” Cebu needs a better coliseum.”
Right on, Mayor. Right on. Interestingly enough, the first time I referred to that outdated venue in a sports story when I started writing back in 1997, it was still called the New Cebu Coliseum. Along the way, I think the sportswriters decided to drop the word “new” when mentioning it because there is nothing new in that venue.
Cebu needs a better coliseum, and we needed that ages ago.
And judging from how the reception of the SWU-UV series, the (really) new Cebu Coliseum would be paying for itself. Can you just imagine having Game 5 in a spanking new venue, one that rivals Lapu-Lapu City’s Hoops Dome? The scoreboards and shot clocks won’t be an issue. And it’s not just Cesafi basketball that the new venue could host, there’s the Milo basketball tournaments, the various alumni leagues, and if you want big time sports, there’s the Pinoy Pride boxing series.
So how about that dear Mayor Mike? Let’s have that really new Cebu Coliseum.
DYNAMO CUP. Dynamo FC, a club formed in 2012, will be holding one of the rare football tournaments down South on Sunday. The Dynamo Cup, a youth tournament, will be held at the East Visayan Academy.
Aside from holding the event down South, this event differs from the rest because it’s homage to Talisay Razkals coach Rosner Bollozos, who, despite limited resources, managed to turn a diverse group of kids into championship contenders.
What more could the Talisay City kids do, given the right support?
That’s the question the Dynamo Cup seeks to answer as the tournament hopes to become a window for the kids to hone their skills, and of course, to raise funds for their training.
Another interesting aspect of their tournament is the centralized scheduling and monitoring of teams and a dedicated proctor for each age bracket. Normally, teams monitor their own schedules, lest they be forfeited, and it would be interesting how these changes work as they could be the new “normal” in football festivals.
So, if you’re free on Sunday, check out the Dynamo Cup.
(www.cebufootball.blogspot.com)
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