UCLM players on sudden exit: ‘Painful, hard to accept’

Sports

THE University of Cebu-Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) Baby Webmasters showed a lot of promise and pundits saw them as a serious title contender.

The elimination round ended and the Baby Webmastes showed they were as good as advertised. They were just three wins away from raising a championship trophy only to see their title hopes crumble in a wink of an eye.

The hardest part was that they didn’t accomplish what many thought they were capable of achieving without playing a single game in the critical stage of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) Season 25 secondary basketball tournament.

Key UCLM players admitted that the league decision to forfeit some of their seven games due to a violation by a teammate hit them in the gut.

“It’s hard to accept, especially knowing how much we sacrificed, how much we pushed ourselves, and how much we believed in the dream we built together,” said Yance Montealto in a report by Focus, UCLM’s official student publication.

The pain was understandable.

Things looked palpable for UCLM when it ended the eliminations with eight wins and two losses–a solid run that made them the top seed in the semifinal round.

The Baby Webmasters were supposed to be twice-to-beat in the Final Four. Then came the decision of the Cesafi board, which looked into the violation of Noel Lingoste.

Before the league took action, UCLM expelled Lingoste for playing in a tournament in Iloilo while the Cesafi was ongoing.

The ouster of Lingoste was a big blow for UCLM as he was one of the team’s top-performing players. Things turned from bad to worse for UCLM when the league ruled that Lingoste’s violation warranted forfeiting UCLM’s games that he played in.

In its decision, the league forfeifted seven UCLM games–six were won games–that yanked the Baby Webmasters out of the semifinals.

UCLM appealed the decision, saying penalizing the whole team for a violation committed by one player was an injustice.

The appeal was denied, and UCLM painfully kissed its title hopes goodbye.

“Sakit para nako nga ang atong gipangandoy nga ma-Top Four, imbes makuha na nato, di pa gyud para atoa,” team captain Wade Adam Luche lamented.

Luche said he could have played elsewhere as there was an offer to play for a school in Manila. It was an offer that doesn’t come always but Luche chose to don the UCLM jersey.

"I never regret [choosing] UCLM despite the once in a lifetime offer in Manila," he said.

For graduating players like Montealto, they dreamed of leaving a lasting legacy in the school’s rich basketball history.

That dream will remain a dream.

“This isn’t the ending we wanted. We’re hurt, we’re tired, and it’s sad knowing we’re moving to college without leaving the legacy we wanted,” said Montealto.(CCM)