Egay Macaraya & the CEU Scorpions to stamp mark in Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup

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.”