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2002-03 Bloomfield Eskumors

Few expected the Bloomfield Basketball Team to be a competitive team in the year 2002-2003...except for maybe...the team itself.

After the 2001-2002 season which the team finished with a .500 record in the LAPRISAA Tournament, 10 players from that roster graduated leaving Lloyd Corpuz and Jonas Terrado as the only active players on the team.

But, as soon as the school year began, the roster was soon filled during a June 15 tryout. Corpuz and Terrado were finally joined by seniors Michael Briones, Angelo Castro, Michael Cristobal, and Aisan Ignacio.

The team also had the most number of non-graduating players in history as juniors Gabriel de Gala, JM Dela Cruz, Mar Medina, Pierre Paderna, long time under-trainee Bonn Reyes, and Paolo Valdehueza were also included.

In July, Lupo Gosengfiao, a former basketball player at his hometown of Bacolod in his heydays, joined the team not only to assist coach Carballo but also to enhance the skills of the players.

After two months of practice, the Eskumors finally played their first game against the Batch 1997 team led by then-College of St Benilde Blazers standout Unik Reyes. Although Bloomfield led by almost 20 points in the early moments, they eventually blew the lead in the closing moments of the game losing 63-61 in their first game of the year.

2002-03 Bloomfield Eskumors #2 Jonas Terrado #3 Richard Briones #4 Jigo Dela Cruz #6 Angelo Castro #9 Michael Cristobal #10 Mar Medina #11 Paolo Valdehueza #13 Deane Mapili #15 Gabo de Gala #16 Bonn Reyes #17 Pierre Paderna #19 Aisan Ignacio #20 Lloyd Corpuz Head Coach: Weng Carballo Assistants: Lupo Gosengfiao Team Captain: Lloyd Corpuz

As the month of September came, the team added two sophomore players in Richard Briones and Deane Mapili, adding more firepower and youth to the team. Also, the Eskumors defeated Augustinian Abbey and FIJCA in two tune-up games at the school. In October, the team lost to Blessed Trinity, also in an exhibition match.

Unfortunately, the Eskumors would lose Michael Briones, who have left the school without notice for unknown reasons. But Bloomfield continued its preparations for the upcoming major tournaments.

One of those was the LAPRISAA Tournament, Bernardo College quickly ended the Eskumors run in this event with a 54-48 win, despite a furious second half run by Bloomfield. Although they were eliminated in this knockout system tournament, a new league put them on the map.

The LPSAA Tournament was formed and the Bloomfield was among those who joined this new league. But before they could start the tournament, the Eskumors would beat the Batch 2002 team led by Patrick Eusebio in a tune up game.

When the tournament started, the Eskumors posted a strong start with three straight wins as they beat Blessed Trinity, Southville, and St. Marks. The win against SMI was the team's first ever since both teams first clashed in September 2000.

SFACS-Taguig became spoilers to the team's momentum, giving BA their first loss with Castro sidelined by a nose injury. The team recovered by beating Augustian Abbey, nailing the final spot into the final four and chance for Bloomfield to win its first basketball crown.

The great run ended in the postseason, Elizabeth Seton eliminated Bloomfield in the semis and Bernardo added the misery in the battle for 3rd place.

Despite the short end, the 4th Place finish was the best finish by any Bloomfield basketball team in recent years. Individually, Castro was named into the LPSAA Mythical Five and led the team in scoring. He was also named as the Basketball Player of the Year by the school to end his short but memorable Eskumor career.

Most of the holdovers peaked during the year, which showed signs of promise a year later. But the 2002-2003 Eskumors became the launch pad for a run at the championship.