EVEN without all of JD Cagulangan, Quentin Millora-Brown, and Francis Lopez, the University of the Philippines can't be counted out.
Sure, the Fighting Maroons' latest prize acquisition Veejay Pre still has a year of residency to serve before lacing up, but they still have fresh faces good to go, including ex-UE star guard Rey Remogat.
Still, there's a huge hole right in the paint for State U, the area QMB, Lopez, and Aldous Torculas once took care of.
While Dikachi Udodo, their foreign student-athlete (FSA) in UAAP Season 87, remains a solid choice, another Nigerian is slowly but surely making his presence felt - and making a compelling case for himself.
Francis Nnoruka, a long-limbed, 6-foot-9 center, is the maroon-and-green's FSA for the ongoing Playtime Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup and is averaging 12 points and six rebounds through two games.
According to the 22-year-old, finally getting the chance to suit up is something he was yearning for, especially in official preseason tourneys.
“It feels great. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while now,” he said. “It’s a great deal. Getting the opportunity to play, wearing the Fighting Maroons jersey, and representing the school.”
“Nothing is really sure on the team, so you know everybody has to play to their greatest ability to compete for a spot on the team.”
A precious rematch
As Nnoruka is yet to run through the entire gauntlet of FSAs, a trial by fire of sorts awaited him last Monday against Red Warrior Precious Momowei.
Though the affair ended with the red-and-white big pounding in a 23-point, 18-rebound double-double in 35 minutes of action, it was Nnoruka who got the last laugh thanks to UP's 89-71 victory.
READ: Balanced UP overwhelms UE for share of Filoil Preseason lead
While this looked like an early taste of what their battles would look like if Nnoruka was fielded for the upcoming season, it wasn’t actually his first tango with Momowei.
As it turns out, the two enforcers have had run-ins before.
“It’s really great. It’s been a minute since I played him, because we were both playing back home in Nigeria,” he explained.
“He was relentless, just kept going. It feels great playing him again.”
Though UP has more than enough firepower from their locals to compete and contend, the presence of Nnoruka is, of course, a big bonus.
And with the jury still out on who gets the FSA spot come the UAAP itself, it’s good to already see Nnoruka eagerly proving himself.
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