Magis: A Tale of Two, Three, Four, Five Teams?

One was expected to win while the other wasn’t. One was keen on imposing its stronghold as a high school basketball powerhouse in the Visayas and Mindanao, while the other always played second fiddle to another team considered as the powerhouse of Cebu football. Both teams took different paths, but as the dust settled, both came out big winners. They’re both called the Magis Eagles of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, and true to the meaning of “Magis” beside the word “Eagle,” the basketball and football teams went out to do more and be more, scoring a rare CESAFI double, winning the championships of their events of the CESAFI 2016 season.

The basketball team swept the three-game series against the University of Cebu, 2-0, in a rematch of last year’s championship. The Magis Eagles scored a 69-45 rout in Game 1, then followed this up with another dominating win, 72-56, in Game 2. The team was a pre-season favorite to score a 4-peat, but UC pulled off the surprise of the season when they defeated SHS-Ateneo not once, but twice earlier in the tournament. The finals was then a 50-50 situation, but that was before tip-off. The moment the buzzer sounded, it was SHS-Ateneo all the way through both games. Gone was the tentative and “play-not-to-lose” attitude in those losses to UC. These were replaced with hungry and confident players who didn’t want to lose another two games to the only team that beat them earlier. The defense from the get go was relentless, with UC scoring only six points in the first quarter of Game 1 and only four points in the first period of Game 2. The Magis Eagles sent a clear statement that they were here to stay for a fourth straight championship.

The other moving scene was the turn-out of support from the school community, including the unexpected. SHS-Ateneo de Cebu President Fr. Manny Uy, S.J. cited how fellow Freeman columnist Nancy Toledo, a well-respected English teacher, cheered for her Senior High School students in an actual game for the first time this season. Also there were fellow student-athletes from the football team that won the CESAFI title earlier in the day, the girls volleyball team that plays in the CESAFI semifinals this afternoon, the Juniors Team 2, SBP and Passerelle teams. Family members, relatives, classmates, friends and teachers formed a wave of blue and white that filled the Cebu Coliseum with yells of “Go Ateneo! One Big Fight” and the always dependable “D-Fense.”

On the other hand, the SHS-Ateneo football team took the long, bumpy and winding road to the championship. Although they placed second at the end of the classification phase, they were held to a 3-3 draw by USPF, and needed extra periods to nip the same USPF side in the semifinals, 3-2; and this was 24 hours before the finals. They had bowed to Don Bosco Technology Center, 0-1, in their group phase game, and all signs were pointing to yet another CESAFI championship for the Greywolves, something that has become a norm for them. They’ve won every CESAFI football championship since the start except for 2010, 2012 and 2016 when SHS-Ateneo won. Playing in the finals every year was a mere formality before the crowning of Don Bosco as champions. That’s how good they are. In Cebu, everybody knows that age group and youth football is synonymous with Don Bosco. But the Magis Eagles had something else in mind. Playing the underdog role to the hilt (in the press, stands and among football enthusiasts), they stopped the Greywolves on their tracks all-game long (including injury time that was “stretched” by two minutes more than what was declared). Banking on better quality ball possession and passing from the mid-field to the strikers, SHS-Ateneo needed just one nifty goal by Leo Maquiling in the 53rd minute to score the huge win. Don Bosco controlled ball possession and had their chances to score, but the combination of a tough defense, clutch goalkeeping and breaks had them suffering their first and only loss of the tournament.

The most impressive thing about this SHS-Ateneo football team is that they lost five key players from last year’s team who were still eligible to play in the next two CESAFI seasons. (Not too many are aware of this, were you?) Three migrated to the United States, another decided to take a break after suffering an injury, and another made the decision to focus on his studies. Of the five, one was a leading goal scorer, another was a team captain, two were tough defenders, while the other was a key midfielder. All of them formed the core of the team that bowed to Don Bosco in the CESAFI 2015 finals and had also played at the Palarong Pambansa 2015. This made the chances of winning so much more difficult but also consequently made the championship so much sweeter. The classic picture of a crying Sean Kyle Go embracing the injured team captain Ethan Lim best describes the sweetness of the victory.

The triumphs of the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu basketball and football teams followed a more low-profile win by the boys swimming team as they scored back-to-back championships also in the CESAFI. The school’s SBP and Passerelle basketball teams were also playing in the finals of the SBP Passerelle tournament as of this writing yesterday, while the Lady Magis Eagles volleyball team is gunning for a return to the CESAFI finals in today’s semifinals.

Magis. It’s a word that Cebu sports followers have gotten to know through the Magis Eagles. May it also mean an opportunity for us to do more and be more.

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So how did the champion teams celebrate? By plunging straight into their second periodical exams this past week. Magis indeed.