IT took a while, but Dray Caoile is starting to find his groove with University of the East.
After only scoring a grand total of 10 points in his first three games, Caoile rained down 23 points, four rebounds, and four assists in their encounter against University of Santo Tomas last Saturday.
“It definitely always feels good to have the shot going and playing with confidence, but ultimately I want to win so that's the only thing that bothers me. It feels good to have a good game,” he told SPIN.ph.
The one-and-done playmaker opened the match with a 15-point explosion just in the first, enough to lift the Red Warriors to the only quarter they won, 31-29.
After the stellar first half, though, he went silent in the third quarter, and only scored three points in the final frame. To add salt to the wound, the Growling Tigers spoiled his coming-out party by scoring a season-high 111 points, being the first team in UAAP Season 88 to log triple digits.
READ: UST pounds on already-grounded UE to return to win column
Even with the much-needed scoring outburst, the Fil-Am guard still would have preferred the win, especially since they remain the only winless team outside of their Recto neighbors, Far Eastern University.
“It's definitely not where we want to be, but just take every loss as a lesson. And, I think we'll make our run on the wins column soon,” he added.
Dray day
As Caoile admitted, life has been a lot faster lately since he first donned the red-and-white in the offseason.
From walking into UE’s dugout and asking coach Chris Gavina for a shot, the 6-foot Portland native has been in the steady grind despite the quick turnaround.
READ: Brownl-UE? Gavina, Red Warriors feel lucky to find their own JB32
As he explained, “Basically, my season ended (in the U.S.) and I only had one to two months (for what was next). I'm over here in the Philippines, so I haven't really like had a complete offseason.”
Above all else, though, what may have shocked Caoile the most is the Filipino flair, especially with the basketball culture of the UAAP.
“I would say maybe just the pace, the drums, the noise, sometimes the physicality. Just learning with new guys, new system, new rules, new shot clock. I feel like I've adapted pretty quickly,” he said.
Still, the clock isn’t running out for UE’s newest weapon. If anything, this onslaught is his return to form - rather than the ceiling for his capabilities.
“I'm going to just keep playing my game. Just keep being aggressive, keep making plays. When the ball comes to me, just take my shot, or take a pass. Just do what I can to help the team win," he said.
“At the end of the day, just coming out and competing, giving it all that I can. That usually takes over anything else. Just playing to compete and playing to win,” he added.
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