THE Espana pipeline is alive and kicking.
Juniors standouts Kirk Canete and Charles Esteban are staying in Espana for their collegiate careers, officially committing to University of Santo Tomas on Tuesday.
Canete, a shifty 5-foot-10 guard from Malaybalay, Bukidnon, is adding more depth to the team's guard rotation.
He turned heads this past UAAP Season 88 boys basketball tournament after leading the charge for the Tiger Cubs and earning his spot in the Mythical Team.
Canete averaged 9.6 points, 7.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in 28 minutes of action in UST's foiled title retention bid.
He did continue his stellar performance in the 2026 Smart-NBTC National Finals where he netted 10.2 points, 7.3 boards, and 5.8 assists.
Esteban, on the other hand, is a 6-foot-4 forward who is a former member of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth team and is the son of UST men's volleyball assistant coach Aying.
He posted 7.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals in 20 minutes of play in the UAAP and hiked those numbers to 18.7 points and 8.7 boards in the NBTC. Both Canete and Esteban are cleared to suit up for the upcoming UAAP Season 89.
Their commitments also continue the talent transfer from the high school level under coach Manu Inigo to the seniors team of coach Pido Jarencio.
Last year, three Tiger Cubs moved up the ranks namely Koji Buenaflor, Charles Bucsit, and Carl Manding, all making it to the seniors team.
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