By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Bacolodnon winger Raffy Celis will remain in blue and white for college as he has committed to join the defending UAAP men’s basketball champion Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles.

The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles standout has reportedly chosen to join the Blue Eagles after receiving several offers from Manila-based schools and colleges.

Aside from Ateneo, among those who offered the Bacolod City-native Celis were De La Salle University Green Archers, University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, and College of St. Benilde Blazers.

The 6-foot-3 Celis previously played in tournaments in Bacolod City’s Barangay Mansilingan before he was recruited by head coach Rommel Rasmo to join the Magis Eagles in Cebu City.

Celis made an impact in his years with the Magis Eagles and recently helped the school to reach the semifinals round of the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) National Finals at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

In the said week-long tournament, the Bacolodnon forward averaged double-double numbers of 17.3 points and 10 rebounds to be named as one of the three Magis Eagles in Mythical Five.

Celis was the second Western Visayas-based player on the current roster of Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin, aside from Ilonggo Ian Espinosa, who is a product of Ateneo de Iloilo.

Celis was just one of the three players the reigning UAAP men’s seniors basketball champion Blue Eagles gained the past few days after also securing the commitment of his teammate Michael Asoro and Filipino-American Kyle Gamber.

Asoro was also one of the stars of Rasmo at the Magis Eagles and was also named among the Mythical Team in the recent NBTC tournament after scoring 17.5 points per outing.

On the other hand, Gamber reaffirmed his commitment to the Blue Eagles after reports that he was being pirated by another UAAP school away from Ateneo./ASC, WDJ