ONE of the big reasons for Big Chill’s success so far in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup has been Reil Cervantes.
The Far Eastern University standout was acquired by the Superchargers prior to the start of the conference after his uneventful stint in the pros, where he was drafted by Barangay Ginebra in 2011 but had little playing time with the Gin Kings before being left unsigned after a stint with Barako Bull.
Big Chill’s faith in the 27-year-old Cervantes, apparently, is paying off.
Head coach Robert Sison said Cervantes’ pick-up is vital to the team, which lost its explosive scorer in reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player Terrence Romeo, himself a product of FEU, to the pro ranks.
“He has been very big for us,” said Sison of the 6-4 forward. “Leadership is one thing that he brings. Then, he is very vocal on what he feels. He is imposing and marunong siya mag-convince sa mga players.”
“He is an energy guy for us,” said Sison.
Cervantes has been a big factor for Big Chill in scoring and rebounding while leading the Superchargers to the best record in the league so far at 10-1, the solitary loss coming at the hands of powerhouse NLEX.
“He is one of the reasons why we are on top of the standings. We are not really number one dahil tinalo kami ng NLEX pero still, siya ‘yung pinaka-glue guy namin,” said Sison.
With the way he is playing with Big Chill, Sison believes Cervantes can make it back to the PBA again.
“Reil has tremendous talent and potential. It just so happened na hindi napunta ‘yung breaks sa kanya sa PBA. Kung may makakakita sa kanya na scouts sa D-League, he has a good chance at coming back in the PBA,” said Sison.
“The team who would pick him will be very lucky,” said Sison.
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