Gracious in defeat, Webmasters vow to come back even stronger

CEBU, Philippines — They may have lost to the mighty University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers in the finals but the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters can still hold their heads up high for performing beyond expectations in the 17th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) basketball season.

Many eyebrows were raised when in a nutshell Raul "Yayoy" Alcoseba took the coaching reins of UC but the legendary bench tactician silenced his critiques after steering the Webmasters to their first finals appearance since 2011.

The Webmasters even went close from snaring their first crown in six years after they stunned the defending champions in Game 1 of their best-of-three championship showdown.

Their title dreams, however, disappeared in the mist after they floundered in the next two games. UV's recuperative powers was just too much for UC to overcome.

"It was unfortunate. We won Game 1, but we lost two straight games. My goal is always to win a championship but it is not always the case," said Alcoseba.

Still, Alcoseba takes pride for what they have achieved considering that they haven't been given a good chance by some quarters to make it to the round of four even before the start of the tournament.

"Nobody counted us to be in the final four or better yet in the finals. But we did and even won Game 1," said the winningest coach in the annals of Cebu cagedom.

Alcoseba, who already has five collegiate titles from three different schools tucked under his belt, pointed out the lack of experience of one of the underlying reasons that caused their downfall at the hands of the heavily favored Lancers.

"I always believe that we can win the championship. But having no experience really made it hard for us to do that. Hopefully we will learn from this experience  and improve on it next year," said Alcoseba.

On the brighter side of the fence, Alcoseba extolled his wards for their hard work and big fighting heart that made them winners in his own eyes.

"The only thing I can say about my team is that they realy, really work hard. They did not disappoint me when it comes to hard work. They showed me heart despite their inexperience," Alcoseba concluded. (FREEMAN)