UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas is looking at the big picture as they secured the commitment of four Fil-foreign talents to its men's basketball program.
Kyle Paranada, Ashon Andrews, Geremy Robinson Jr., and Leland Estacio have all moved to Espana, boosting the team for the future.
"Preparation natin ito para sa hinaharap at masaya tayo na sasamahan tayo ng mga batang ito. Ebidensya ito na naniniwala sila sa sistema at programa na ginagawa natin dito sa UST," said Growling Tigers coach Pido Jarencio.
Paranada is considered as the biggest catch being one of the main gunners for University of the East in the last UAAP season. The fearless guard averaged 11.64 points on 26-percent shooting from deep, 4.21 assists, 2.86 rebounds, 1.64 steals in 23 minutes for the Red Warriors.
The 5-foot-9 Paranada will have two more years to play in the black-and-gold.
Andrews, on the other hand, is hungry for an opportunity after only appearing in three games for University of the Philippines and largely seeing action in the preseason leagues.
The athletic 6-foot-4 high-flyer can still play for three years in UST.
Robinson Jr. is the son of former PBA import Geremy Robinson who last saw action for Air21 in 2011. Standing at 6-foot-2, the younger Robinson still has four years of eligibility after being listed as a reserve for La Salle last season.
Estacio averaged 3.6 points on 40-percent shooting from three, and 1.6 boards in 11.8 minutes in his sophomore year for West Valley College in Saratoga, California. The 6-foot-2 guard still has two playing years of eligibility.
All four will undergo residency before being cleared to play for UAAP Season 87.
Nonetheless, Jarencio isn't wasting time immersing them in this new environment, saying, "Kasama na sila sa team at mas maganda na ngayon pa lang, maintindihan na nila yung sistema na ginagawa namin para pag pwede na silang lumaro, handang handa na sila."
UST is hopeful to have a better performance this coming year following the hiring of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) sports director Alfrancis Chua as the school's new Special Assistant to the Rector for Sports and the subsequent commitment of Petron as the Growling Tigers' main backer.
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