Three weeks ago, I stepped inside the office of Atty. Augusto Go. The room was spacious. Leather seats rested comfortably. Portraits of the young Gus Go decorated the walls. A 32-inch Samsung TV flashed images beside his cavernous, all-hardwood desk. Papers were stacked. Books adorned the cabinets.

Atty. Go was wearing his usual office attire: short-sleeves shirt. He was also wearing a smile. The reason? Plenty. His University of Cebu (UC) had just been declared, thanks to a heart-stopping Game 5 victory over the Southwestern University (SWU), the winners. UC was the University of Champions. Champions in the Cesafi last year, they repeated again this 2011 season.

“Basketball is important for UC,” said Atty. Go, a huge fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. “Basketball is the game that everyone follows.” But UC is not all basketball. One of the largest educational institutions in the country—in a few years’ time it will exceed 50,000 students—UC focuses not on one sport but on all sports.

That morning when we talked for nearly half an hour, his Arnis team members, gold medal winners in another major event, were waiting outside his office. Also standing outside his office lobby were tall trophies.

“Sports is important,” he said, “but education is even more important. We never compromise the studies of our students for sports.”

One example, he narrated, was when a foreign student was once “imported” by UC. A photo-op was taken inside Atty. Go’s office. It turns out, the handshake deal was not formalized because weeks after, that student revisited UC’s officials and asked for more money. He requested that UC match the higher “asking price” of another university.

“I said no,” Atty. Go explained. “We’re not in it for the money.” The player moved elsewhere.

Junemar Fajardo? The 6-foot-10 MVP who’s been the best Cebuano collegiate player the past two seasons? “He came to UC because of our Maritime program,” said Gus Go.

On their Maritime program, the UC owner was at his most excited. “I’m happy to say that UC is the biggest maritime school in the world that caters to foreign companies,” he said. “Each year, we have 15,000 applicants and we accept only 500 scholars per campus. With our four campuses, that’s 2,000 students. They get free tuition, uniforms and more. Plus, when they graduate, they’re eligible to get as much as $6,000 salary per month.”

I knew UC was huge. I also knew that UC excelled in maritime education. But it wasn’t until the first-hand explanation of the founder that I understood their impact.

“Thirty percent of the world’s seafarers are Filipinos,” he said. “By the end of the decade, that will increase to 50 percent.” Today, roughly $16 billion is pumped into the Philippine economy, thanks to our modern-day heroes, the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

“John, would you believe,” said Atty. Go, “that out of the 12 million OFWs, only 500,000 are seafarers… yet they account for 30 percent of the entire $16 billion that enters our economy. That’s the financial impact of the seafarers.”

While speaking, Atty. Go was animated. Given that UC is the world’s biggest, you can imagine the impact he’s making to thousands of people’s lives. “Many who come to us are poor,” he said. “For them to be given full scholarships then work for very high paying jobs, that makes happy.”

Fulfilled. Yes. That’s the word I’d best describe Augusto Go. His work ethic, still reporting to the office daily and commanding his vast empire of schools and businesses, is outstanding. Best of all, I was amazed at his intellect and memory. He recited to me the names of every single foreign company that’s linked with UC. He even enumerated the names of the key officials who landed in Cebu to formalize deals with him. In business parlance, that’s being “hands-on.”

Like a ship commander, he steers the University of Captains.

(Note: Read my October 13, 2010 story about Gus Go here.)

I had a lengthy phone conversation with Cebu City Councilor Raul Alcoseba yesterday. No, our talk did not delve into politics. And, no, I did not ask the three-term councilor if he’s eyeing a congressional seat in two years’ time.

We talked basketball. If you recall, Coach Yayoy joined the CESAFI tournament for the first time. He led the Cobras collegiate team of Southwestern University. In just his first season, he transformed a previously unrecognized SWU team into a title-contender.

What happened this 2011? SWU lost their first two games. At that point, the critics barked on Yayoy and his prediction of the Cobras biting and unleashing venom. Naysayers laughed. But, as each game and week and month progressed, the Cobras turned lethal. They won. At the end of the First Round, they had a positive win-loss record. In the Second Round, they swept the enemies to score 6-0. They beat UC. Then, in a twice-to-beat scenario against UV, they lost the first game. Finally, they rebounded and won the decider in a lopsided (and, yes, controversial) manner.

SWU faced UC in the finals. Again, they were down. Game 1 they lost. Game 2 they lost. Nobody had ever recovered from a 0-2 score-line. But, minute after minute, SWU recovered. They regained their confidence. They won Game 3. They won Game 4.

“This whole season,” said Coach Yayoy, “has been one of downs and ups for Southwestern. We were down in our opening two games. We came back. We were down against UV. We won. We were down 2-0 against UC.”

Win? Did SWU steal that victory, like a Pacquiao over Marquez, in Game 5? No. The fairy-tale ending did not happen. Still, what an amazing, roller-coaster-like, near-championship-victory for the Aznar-owned squad.

“As each game progressed,” said Alcoseba, “more and more fans went to watch SWU. We were not this popular before. Not until this year.”

The reason? “We’re the underdogs,” he said. That’s true. Don’t ordinary followers often gravitate towards cheering for the ones not expected to succeed?

UC is a giant. I’ve coined the nickname for them: University of Champions. They’ve been—and are—winners not only in basketball but everything from athletics to tennis to swimming to name-the-sport-and-UC’s-won-it. One of the Philippines’ largest schools (they’ll soon surpass 50,000 enrollees), UC is a behemoth in sports.

SWU? In volleyball and others, yes. But not in CESAFI basketball. Not until this 2011. Back to Game 5: SWU won it…. Almost.

With three minutes left in the season, they led. It evaporated. With Pao’s double three-pointers, it disappeared. “Inexperience,” Yayoy calls it.

Still, the season was a success. “The support of the SWU management was all-out,” said the coach. Specifically, Maris Johana Aznar Holopainen, the chairperson of the Board of Trustees; Annette Alfonso Almario, treasurer; Andrew Aznar, team manager; and, my good friend and an impassioned sportsman, SWU’s athletic director, Ryan Aznar.

One name also emerged in our phone conversation: Michel Lhuillier. Though not an owner of the team, thanks to his over 25 years of close ties with Mr. Alcoseba, M. Lhuillier supported the SWU team in many ways. The uniforms. Extra support when they reached the finals. And, most of all, Michel funded the TV coverage on SkyCable.

“Showing the games on TV was important,” said Alcoseba. “The Cebu Coliseum was over-capacity. More wanted to watch but could not be accommodated. The airing of the games gave plenty the chance to see this season.”

This season, of course, turned out to be one of the 11-year-old CESAFI league’s most enthralling. Both the high school and the collegiate finals reached the precipice—the Game 5 finale.

“Our season is not finished yet,” Alcoseba said. On Nov. 27, both UC and SWU will play in Ormoc. They’ll face the Mindanao and W. Visayas champions, respectively. If both win, they’ll meet again on Nov. 28. The winner? That team will represent Vis-Min in the Phil. Collegiate Champions League in Manila.

Game 6, UC v. SWU? Abangan.