SENIOR HIGH PLAYERS EYE COLLEGE TEAMS

Cesafi coaches recommended to amend the age requirement for the high school and college athletes considering the application of the K to 12 program of the Department of Education

The commissioner's office and the coaches are seeking the approval of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) board to allow senior high players to play in the collegiate ranks.

In the recent strategic meeting for the 2018 Season, which will start on Aug. 5, the athletic directors pushed for allowing 19-yearold players to play in college even if they are still in senior high school. Cesafi rules allow only players 18 years old and below to play in the high school division.

Before the Department of Ed- ucation implemented the K-12 program, students graduated high school at 16.

With the K-12 basic education program, students will be 18 by the time they finish senior high. There are, however, athletes who may have started school late or are already 19 but are still in senior high.

“This was proposed by the athletic directors to allow 19-year-old players to play in college during our latest strategic meeting. But we need the approval of the board to make it an official policy,” Cesafi Commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy Jr. told SunStar Cebu.

The implementation of the Senior High School created a vacuum since there are a lot of players who turned 19, which made them ineligible to play in the high school division.

This policy if approved by the Cesafi board, will also be implemented in the other sports events.

According to Tiukinhoy, the Cesafi board is set to convene on July 5 to approve or deny amendments to the rules.

Today, Tiukinhoy will meet at 2 pm in Cebu Coliseum with coaches to determine what format they will use in the basketball tournament.

This was after the controversial elimination of the Southwestern University Cobras in the finals despite winning all its elimination round games.

Cesafi will no longer use the back-to-zero round robin semifinal in the basketball tournament, to avoid controversies like last year‘s.

One of the formats that has been suggested is the 1-4, 2-3 semifinals with the no. 1 and no. 2 to enjoy a twice to beat edge over their opponents. /

SUNSTAR FILE VACUUM. The K to 12 program of the Department of Education puts players in a quandary as those 19-yearold Senior High are no longer eligible to play in high school but since they are technically in high school, they can’t play in the college division...