THIS influx of UAAP standouts taking their talents to the MPBL may have been the most newsworthy in the league's history, but it wasn’t exactly felt across the board.
Four out of five seniors from the University of the Philippines teamed up with La Salle's Mike Phillips in San Juan, while Caloocan got two of Ateneo’s most potent scorers on top of Kean Baclaan. Even defending champion Abra welcomed a couple of onetime UAAP stars in JD Cagulangan and Jake Figueroa.
And then, there’s Nic Cabañero, the lone UAAP acquisition for mostly-intact Biñan Tatak Gel.
While it may look like the former King Tiger drew the short end of the stick, with his collegiate rivals joining forces in various MPBL sides, Cabañero himself sees it differently.
“I’m so excited kasi yung mga ka-batch ko, yung mga rivals ko from other colleges, makakalaban ko pa rin sila,” he told SPIN.ph. “Kasi iba yung ngayon diba? We're representing another team na and we're not representing our university anymore.”
“So even though na kalaban kami or kaibigan man kami off the court, ipapakita ko rin kung anong galing ng team namin.”
Just in the Nic of time
With Cabañero about to play his collegiate peers now on the professional level, any guess is a good one on who his most anticipated match-up will be.
But in typical fashion, he actually doesn’t have any – because his buckets are rated ‘E’ for everyone.
“Ayan sila ‘Maroon Four’ pati Mike Phillips sa San Juan. Second is Abra. Sila Jake at Dave [Ildefonso] na nakalaban ko na last preseason. Siyempre, Caloocan din,” he said.
“Tapos yung Quezon, hindi din natin pwedeng balewalain. South Finals rematch yun, tapos andun pa sila [John] Abate, sila Ced Manzano, pati Jolo Manansala.”
Of course, Cabañero is no stranger to competition being stacked against him, as before his swan song with the black-and-gold was bolstered by the likes of Forthsky Padrigao, Kyle Paranada, and Collins Akowe, he headlined a couple of one-man show campaigns for the Growling Tigers.
But those days are long gone for the 22-year-old combo guard, as winning remains his and Biñan's full focus.
“Of course, isa lang naman yung goal namin: to win the championship. 'Di dapat maliitin yung ibang teams, 'di dapat namin i-take it for granted,” he said. “Ipapakita lang talaga namin na deserving kami to represent Biñan.”
READ: Pingris, Lastimosa make experience count in Binan victory over QC
So far, so good for Tatak Gel, as they barged into the win column by beating Quezon City, with their Thomasian recruit contributing 13 points and two rebounds.
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