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| With UE head coach Derek Pumaren and CEU head coach Egay Macaraya |
This appears in the Tuesday, April 22, 2014 edition of the Business Mirror.
Macaraya, CEU to stamp Filoil mark
by rick olivares
When the Centro Escolar University Scorpions open
their maiden Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup campaign on August 28 against
Emilio Aguinaldo College, head coach Edgar Macaraya hopes that his team will
play hard and earn the respect of the top collegiate leagues in the country.
CEU is the current National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU) champion and are taking part in their first Filoil
campaign along with last year’s first-runner up, St. Clare. Filoil has long
been the domain of NCAA and UAAP schools. However beginning with its 2013
tournament, the country’s premier pre-season college basketball tournament has
opened its doors to top schools from across the archipelago. The Visayas is
represented by the University of the Visayas, Southwestern University, and
University of San Carlos while Mindanao is represented by Holy Trinity College
of General Santos City.
Macaraya who starred for San Sebastian College
Recoletos in the 1980s over at the NCAA and who still holds the record for the
most triples in the amateurs with 14 made in one game said, “It’s a huge honor
for CEU to be a part of this. We promise to be as competitive as possible to
uphold our school’s honor as well as for NAASCU. In the NAASCU, the style of
play is a lot faster but we want to see how we match up against the La Salles,
NUs, and San Bedas. The exposure can only help us in so many ways. Now those
who only watch either the UAAP or NCAA will see our team. That will also be
good for our players who look forward to go to the PBA.”
Macaraya, who also coaches Café France in the PBA
D-League will lean on point guard Joseph Sedurefa, Congolese center Rodrigue
Ebondo, and shooting guard Alvin Abundo to lead the Scorpions’ campaign. “My
players are getting good exposure in the D-League and hopefully, what we have learned
there can be transferable to our play in the Filoil and the next NAASCU. We saw
how SWU gained much needed confidence from their stint last season in the
Filoil. Hopefully, it will be the same for us this time around.”
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