|
Cebu
First District Rep. And University of the Visayas (UV) president
Eduardo "Eddiegul" R. Gullas will be the guest of
honor and keynote speaker in the formal opening of the M.
Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-sponsored 2nd Visayas Amateur Athletic
Association (VAAA) men's basketball tournament this afternoon
at the Cebu Coliseum.
VAAA
founder and multi-titled coach Raul "Yayoy" D. Alcoseba
said the presence of Gullas is indeed a big boost and an added
inspiration to the fledgling league to soar even higher and
scale greater heights in the local hoopdom.
|
|
|
"Gullas
is truly a sports leader, a true sportsman. Having accepted
our invitation to grace the VAAA opening only shows
he really cares for sports development. We would be
deeply honored by his presence," said Alcoseba.
Gullas
is a prominent figure in RP basketball for several decades
now. Feted by Philippine Free Press as "Coach of
the Year" for steering the UV Lancers to the National
Inter-Collegiate championship with victory over the
University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Golden Bears in late
'50s, Gullas once served as vice president for the Visayas
of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP).
|
Gullas
also played a key role towards the creation of the country's
unified basketball body now known as the Samahang Basketbol
ng Pilipinas (SBP).
Meanwhile,
Alcoseba remains upbeat of another successful VAAA season
despite the backing out of defending champion University of
San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R). The Jaguars pulled the plug due
to the CESAFI Board resolution prohibiting its member schools
to participate in any tournament not sanctioned by the league.
Because
of that resolution, the entry of University of San Carlos
(USC) Warriors and lst year's runner-up Southwestern University
(SWC) Cobras also still hangs in the balance.
Seven-time
CESAFI champion UV Green Lancers of coach Elmer "Boy"
Cabahug, however, stood pat of their earlier decision to join
the VAAA cage wars with or without the blessings of CESAFI.
The
other schools taking part in the two-month cagefest are the
Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology (SCSIT)
Skyblazers, Asian College of Technology (ACT) Cyber Knights,
Bohol Institute of Technology-International College (BIT-IC),
Holy Name University (HNU), Western Leyte College (WLC) of
Ormoc, Foundation University (FU), Silliman University (SU),
and Asian College of Science and Technology (ACSAT).
The
champion will receive P100,000 worth of sports equipment,
while the second, third and fourth will get P50,000; P30,000
and P20,000, respectively. Also, the overall winner will represent
the country to the University Games (Universiad) next year
in Bangkok, Thailand.
|
