CHICAGO - The Blue Eagle has landed.
Prized recruit Kyle Gamber arrived in the Philippines last week to begin his collegiate basketball journey at Ateneo, the university he committed to on August 2022 after being aggressively pursued by rival UAAP programs.
The 6-foot-3, 170-pound all-purpose guard was accompanied by his parents - Dave and Geline - to help the 18-year old settle in his new environs.
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Gamber, who just graduated from PolyTech High School in Woodside, Delaware, hit the ground running. He has already practiced with the team and has played in a closed-door exhibition game.
Winners of four of the last six UAAP crowns, the Blue Eagles face a challenging Season 86 title defense following the departures of mainstays Ange Kouame, Dave Ildefonso and BJ Andrade.
The stockpiling of five-star recruits at UP and La Salle as well as the continued growth of National University pose an imminent to the reigning champions.
And that's where Gamber comes in.
He is a big and tall guard who is comfortable handling the ball or playing off of it.
He has what coach Tab Baldwin describes as a "high IQ" that will allow the fleet-footed Fil-Am to fit seamlessly into the system at Ateneo where veterans Forthsky Padrigao, Kai Ballungay and Chris Koon are expected to take over the leadership reins.
"I'm excited and ready to learn the system," Kyle, who is on a very brief swing to his dad's hometown of Cagayan De Oro, told SPIN.ph.
In his senior season at PolyTech, Kyle appeared in 19 games where he averaged 17.2 points per. It was a leap in his overall game that garnered him a nomination to the prestigious McDonald's All-American roster.
Before ultimately deciding to bring his talents to Katipunan, Gamber was also being swayed by three Division 1 schools in NCAA here in the US.
Baldwin, however, is tempering expectations as always.
"Kyle is just starting, so lots to learn," Baldwin said. "But he'll be great. He can obviously play but he's got a long road ahead to learn our system in all the minutiae."
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