Cobras personify team spirit to savor sweet taste of success

CEBU, Philippines —  The Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma Cobras proved that their victory over the mighty University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers to claim their first ever Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Partner’s Cup crown last August was no fluke.

The only difference is that  there’s no sweep this time.

Fighting with great resolve after losing a huge 18-point lead in the second half, the Cobras relied on a strong endgame finish to dethrone the three-time defending champion Lancers, 64-60, in the deciding match of their best-of-three finals to end their five-year title drought in CESAFI basketball last Friday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

SWU-Phinma head coach Mike Cobras said going up against an opponent of UV’s caliber has always been a great challenge for them but they were able to overcome the odds by sticking to their battleplan to the letter.

“We all witness how strong UV is. Napakahirap kalaban ng UV,” said Reyes. “Thankfully, we’re able to limit them on what they do best especially their offensive rebounds.”

In the knockout Game 3, the Cobras built a 40-22 advantage but the Lancers responded with a 23-2 blast to seize control, 45-42, with less than two minutes remaining in the third stanza.

Behind the nine straight rapid-fire points of league MVP Sir Shaquille Imperial though, the Cobras regained the upperhand, 55-52 midway in the last quarter.

Still, the Lancers surged on top again 58-57 on a six-point swing by Lass Coulibally but things did not turn out well for the Visayas thereafter.

The Cobras then made the most out of UV’s silence, with Gerald Fernandez and Dyll Roncal going 5-of-8 from the stripe to give their side a four-point breather, 62-58, with only 32.3 seconds left to play.

The Lancers came breathtakingly close for one last time at 60-62 on a quick basket by Coulibally as William Rosebelt Polican, afer being fouled by UV’s star rookie Gabriel Cometa, calmly sank his pressure-packed foul throws to wrap up the match for the Cobras with 8.9 seconds to go.

“I feel satisfied and relaxed that we are able to deliver what we promised to the SWU management, a championship within three years since our rebuilding program. That just exactly what we did,” said Reyes, who bagged his first championship as head coach of a Cebu collegiate ballclub. He was then assistant of coach Yayoy Alcoseba when  the Cobras last won their CESAFI title in 2014.

Just like in life, every crowning glory entails a lot of sacrifice, hard work and perseverance.

But when pressed on what’s their recipe for success, coach Reyes spotlighted the word ‘teamwork’.

“Just like any program, we continuously work on our skills. We continuously kept on learning from our 2 years of losing,” said Reyes.  “We may not be the most talented team but we strive and survive by helping each other.”