Young hoopers from Cebu used to give Dereck Wenceslao headaches. He probably gave them a few, too.
Eight months later, those same rivals gave Wenceslao something more meaningful.
Wenceslao may not have filled up the stat sheet, but he embraced his role as captain of the Cebu City All-Stars, who defeated Macau, 61-52, at Kai Tak Sports Hall here on Saturday to capture the inaugural East Asia Super League (EASL) Future Elite Championship 15-under crown.
After Cebu raised the trophy, Wenceslao told the Inquirer just how different things had been eight months earlier.
Back then, players such as Kent Labitad, Venz Nadela, Dwayne Rojo and McDome De Asis were often on the other side of the court, giving him all sorts of trouble in local leagues in Cebu.
But after eight weeks of training for the EASL tournament, old rivalries gave way to a brotherhood-and a championship.
‘We’re always together during training. We’re also always playing against each other in leagues back home in Cebu. Other times, we’re teammates, so we were already kind of close,’ Wenceslao said.
Memorable
‘When we started practicing for the EASL, we really spent more time together. We got to know each other better. We’re not even shy around each other anymore.’
Beyond the joy of raising the EASL trophy, Wenceslao came away with something just as memorable.
‘I love these guys. We only had eight weeks of training, and we built friendship and love. These guys are like my brothers already,’ Wenceslao said. ‘We’re really happy to be here right now.’
The young Cebuano squad made sure that bond showed on the court, turning years of familiarity as rivals into an advantage once they began playing for the same side.
Macau coach Garrett Kelly saw firsthand what the Cebu youngsters could accomplish when they were on the same page.