IN retrospect, Jared Bahay admitted the hype he came with probably weighed him down at times last season.
“Almost all of the fans are expecting a positive outcome from me,” said the Cebuano guard of his rookie year in Ateneo, when he put up per game counts of 10.6 points, a team-high, on top of 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds.
But as good players learn to realize, these pressures only push them to be better - and such is a lesson the 5-foot-9 playmaker plans to bring coming into his sophomore season this UAAP Season 88.
With already a year under his belt, Bahay believes that he’s more prepared this time around, all the more with the Blue Eagles heavily banking on him for this redemption campaign.
“There’s a lot of things that can happen in the UAAP and that all teams are capable of winning. So the realization talaga is we got to stay ready all the time,” said the second-year court general.
The house that Jared is building
Even better, Bahay is embracing a bigger role moving forward.
No longer a neophyte, the 20-year-old is taking it upon himself to seize the helm of leadership in Katipunan.
“I want my teammates to feel my leadership more, as it is what we need to play good basketball,” he said.
The entry of one-and-done Kymani Ladi and NigerianDivine Adili is a much-welcome shot in the arm for the blue-and-white, as Bahay sees the two bigs filling the void Ateneo had in the paint last year.
READ: Kymani Ladi passes on NBA workout to focus on Ateneo camp
“Having Ky and Divine makes me so happy, as they make our team harder to defend, especially in the inside game. That’s where I feel we lacked last year din kasi, so it’s an added boost para sa amin,” he said.
READ: Ateneo already has second coming of Ange Kouame? Hold your horses, say Eagles
That’s why Bahay isn’t willing to settle for anything less, as the Blue Eagles go for broke in this campaign, stating, “There could only be one goal for our team this year and that is to win the championship.”
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