FROM the shadows of Morayta's finest in RJ Abarrientos and L-Jay Gonzales, the time is now for Jorick Bautista.
The 23-year-old hotshot was once under the wing of his kuyas who took on loaded responsibilities of orchestrating the FEU offense and leading the green-and-gold's charge altogether.
Supposedly next in the Tamaraws' long line of homegrown guards, Bautista bid his time while Abarrientos took the league by storm in his one and only year and Gonzales entrenched himself on the driver's seat through his five seasons.
The 5-foot-11 guard normed 12.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals last season and with Gonzales gone, the latter was now handed the reins.
Only, preseason projections harped on the arrival of Janrey Pasaol, another fine product out of FEU's high school ranks.
Still, through it all, Bautista stayed, fought, and believed that here was exactly where he belonged.
Jorick’s time is now
After all, it's Gonzales himself who had given the one piece of advice that Bautista carries with him to this day - one centered on locking himself in on what matters most.
“Si L-Jay talaga, siya ‘yung nag-aadvice sa’kin palagi na every game, dapat may goal ka at gawin mo ‘yung best mo kahit anong mangyari, lamang ‘yung kalaban o lamang man kayo," he said.
And so, he continued to put in the work and stayed patient with what the Tamaraws can become.
His perseverance has paid off in UAAP Season 87, especially against Ateneo, where he poured in all but four of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to finally shoot his side into the win column after six tries.
READ: FEU finally gets on the board after Jorick Bautista takes over vs Ateneo
Slowly but surely, Bautista believes they’re now reaping the fruits of their labor with a serial winner in Sean Chambers calling the shots this time around.
“Sobrang sarap, siyempre nagbubunga na. Nakikita ko na ‘yung bunga ng pinagtatrabahuan ko, ‘yung hard work ko sa gabi’t umaga na nagsu-shooting ako,” Bautista said. “Ang saya lang talaga sa feeling na nakikita ko ‘yung sarili ko ngayon.”
“Sobrang hirap sa’min kasi 0-5 eh. Si coach Sean talaga, siya ‘yung nagmo-motivate sa’min palagi. Always positive siya sa court at lahat tinuturo niya talaga sa’min. Sobrang bait niya rin sa’min talaga."
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