Scorpion Sting

(c) Sherwin Vardeleon

A minnow on a sea full of sharks.

That was how Centro Escolar University was viewed when the Scorpions announced their inclusion in the 2014 Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup.

On a tourney where the leading collegiate teams in the country prepare, test, and tweak their lineups, there was CEU, fighting its heart out game-in and game-out.

For others, the preseason is their testing grounds before the real wars in their mother leagues begin in a few months. But for CEU, its a step towards respectability, a rare chance to bang bodies with those famed UAAP and NCAA teams before they wait, possibly in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League later this year, to get their next shot.

"That's our goal. That's the team's goal," said head coach Egay Macaraya. "Right now, we're trying to prove that we're a different CEU team. Every game, we have to be at the top of our games. We'll try to be one of the top collegiate basketball teams in the Philippines. We'll try our very best to do that."

A dreamer. That's what some people might think of the 52-year-old bench tactician after uttering those words.

But as they say, all big things start with a dream. And Macaraya has been one of those dreamers who dared in the past.

He was a part of that San Sebastian Golden Stags squad which took the 1985 NCAA title, breaking the school's 12-year championship drought since David Supnet captained Baste's first basketball crown in 1973.

The 1985 team was bannered by future PBA players Bong Alvarez, Eto Navarro, and Hernani Demegillo, as the Stags overpowered a Mapua Cardinals squad led by two-time NCAA MVP Alvin Patrimonio, and also denied the Samboy Lim-led Letran Knights a four-peat.

So are we giving Macaraya the benefit of a doubt on his claim? I think he just backed it up with his squad's performance.

The Scorpions opened its preseason with a 76-67 win over EAC, then followed it up with a 77-68 victory over St. Benilde, where CEU led by as much as 19 but allowed the Blazers to come back within four.

CEU also escaped a JR Gallarza trey to squeeze out a 69-67 win against UP, and allowed Congolese Rodrigue Ebondo to run roughshod (he finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds) in their 74-61 beatdown of Holy Trinity College of General Santos.

But what makes Macaraya smile is their defense in their last two games, as the Scorpions just limited their opponents to just 60 points.

CEU beat UAAP powerhouse NU, 61-58, and completed their six-game Group C sweep with a 73-62 win over Mapua, topping the group with an undefeated 6-0 slate.

"As I've told my boys, just focus on playing defense. The key in our games is our defense," Macaraya said. "Hindi na kami yung dating CEU na pag nakakalaban, talo agad. We have proven na nagbabago na ang tema ng CEU. Marami na kaming championship at nakakasali na kami sa Filoil."

"The good thing about this team is our intensity and the heart of the boys. They don't care kung sino yung kalaban namin."

Jason Opiso blocks NU's Alfred Aroga (c) Sherwin Vardeleon

The outspoken coach admitted that joining three leagues simultaneously (Fr. Matin Cup, the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup, and the PBA D-League, where the team dons the Cafe France Bakers jersey) has really taken its toll to the players fatigue-wise, but it also helped them to grow and learn each other's strengths for the better of the team.

"I give credit to the boys kasi we are really overfatigued. But the heart to win is still there. Experience-wise, the (PBA) D-League helped us also," he said.

Macaraya has just been thankful for the opportunity to expose his boys to stiffer competition, and he said that they're just using this experience as a learning tool to help them get better in the future.

"From all our opponents, we learn a lot from them," said Macaraya, who steered CEU to last season's NAASCU title. "We're focusing on different kind of teams, so we learn from them, like yung NU. They have a good coaching staff and they're very good, so we learn a lot from them."

"This team is developed to compete on a higher kind of leagues, but were just starting kaya di nila nakikita yung mga players," said Macaraya, who has been optimistic since CEU's run in the 2013 PCCL, where the Scorpions got to as far as the Metro Manila Qualifying Round Finals before bowing to UE, 85-77.

Being no namers, Macaraya said, has worked as a double-edged sword for CEU as its players have been undervalued by teams as NAASCU's lack of television coverage haven't really given enough mileage for their budding stars, but at the same time, the Scorpions have happily accepted the roles of underdogs whenever they play a game in the hard court, ready to shock overconfident opponents with their all-out attack.

To no one's surprise, CEU also has not lured any bluechip recruits compared to the other schools.

But Macaraya is just fine with it, as he has found diamonds in the rough to patch up this rag-tag squad.

Mon Abundo, CEU's 21-year-old starting guard, is already on his third playing year for the squad after being plucked from PWU. His HRM blockmate Alfred Batino, also a 21-year-old, stopped playing for a while in University of Cebu but was recruited to the school by scouts.

Joseph Sedurifa also had the same fate as Batino, as the 22-year-old transferred from the University of Southern Philippines in Cebu to take Management in the Mendiola campus.

Samboy de Leon, 22, bounced from one school to another, exhausting two years in the FEU Team B, took a glimpse in JRU, before finally settling in CEU to study HRM.

Their 19-year-old sophomore Rod Ebondo came from the Republic of Congo, but his priority, compared to other Africans in the country, is to finish his Marketing Management course over his basketball career.

"I guess even if they play in the UAAP or NCAA, they'll still be very good," Macaraya said. "I told them that this is their time to show their skills and shine. Now you can see who they are."

This trust has paid dividends for Macaraya and his Scorpions, as his players delivered the goods whenever they are asked to do so, like in their games against NU and Mapua, where Samboy de Leon caught fire from beyond the arc and paced his squad to victory.

"One of my objectives for this team is that we stay together no matter what happens. Even if my players are in a slump, I trust them. We trust each other that we'll do the hard work. We do it the same way as brothers and as family," he said. "All I'm asking from them is to give their extra effort and energy, and I know everything will go as planned."

The early success has also reached the school heads, as the management appeared to be very pleased with the performance of their squad in the preseason.

"They are very happy. It shows na yung goals, yung sacrifices, and yung hard work ng players, coaches, and ng management, lahat nag-payoff," Macaraya said.

But the job is still not done.

After a six-game sweep, the Scorpions have now assured themselves a spot in the quarterfinals, which will surely land them on the top two. But Macaraya doesn't want the standings to blind his squad.

"I know we haven't met the best team in college right now," he said. "But all my boys do not care on to who our opponents will be. We'll just play hard and we want to win. Hopefully, 'cause we're preparing for the final eight, sana wag maging complacent yung team. We have no time to relax. We'll just rest for the day, go back to the court and go back to hard work."

Some say the preseason can only tell you so much, that whatever happens in the preseason doesn't really affect in one's collegiate campaign, as the big games come in one's mother league.

But CEU begs to differ.

Regardless of their preseason campaign's outcome, Macaraya can already claim that the squad has already achieved a big step towards their target goal, a giant leap to show the country that the best teams can come from small schools, lesser-known leagues, but is powered by tireless and selfless players.

"I've told my boys, 'I guess this is just the beginning.' We're going to do our very best and improve our standings to become one of the best collegiate teams in the Philippines."

A minnow on a sea full of sharks? No, they are not.

What are they, then?

"Scorpions," Macaraya said.