IN the long lineage of star guards hailing from FEU, Jorick Bautista has more than proven he is next in line.
From being running mate to former showrunner L-Jay Gonzales to now-co-captain of the Sean Chambers-coached squad, Bautista has made leap after leap and solidified himself as one of the UAAP’s deadliest scorers.
While Bautista had a shaky start to his fourth year in the green-and-gold, he slowly but surely returned to his high-octane scoring.
Bautista opened the second round by catching fire late vs. Ateneo, as he brought back his vendetta on the Blue Eagles with 20 points, including back-to-back triples that sealed the 75-68 victory.
READ: Bautista, FEU keep Ateneo reeling to start second round
But despite his growing notoriety, Bautista has yet to accomplish something that his seniors Gonzales and RJ Abarrientos once did.
“Mag-Final Four yung gusto ko talaga,” he told SPIN.ph. “As a malapit na rin gumraduate, sana makaramdam man lang ako ng ganung atmosphere. Kasi iba talaga yung Final Four sa eliminations, eh.”
After their last playoff appearance in Season 84, the Tamaraws had two consecutive seventh-place finishes, followed by a 5-9 outing last year, good for sixth.
It’s an understatement to say that fans have been anticipating a return to form for the the boys from Morayta - and Bautista will be the first to tell you that they're doing so as well.
And he's more than willing to show the way.
As he explained, “So far, maganda yung chemistry namin. Yung Fil-Ams, Bisaya, Tagalog, madami eh. Ako as a kuya, ako yung nag-aapproach sa kanila.”
“Hindi kasi ako yung tao na sila yung bata, sila dapat yung mauuna sa'kin. Gusto ko, lahat kami, wala kaming sama ng loob para maganda yung ugnayan namin sa loob ng court.”
Final Four is not the final destination
Make no mistake, though, his dream might be a return to the Final Four, but as a team, FEU's hope against hope is to raise banner No. 21.
“Yung goal namin, hindi lang Final Four kasi if ‘yun lang yung goal namin, baka huminto kami 'pag narating namin,” he said.
“Kaya sa training pa lang, pinag-iigihan talaga namin, china-challenge namin yung isa’t-isa na mag-improve kahit one-percent lang,” he added.
At 3-5, the Tamaraws remain at seventh in the standings, but the door is as open as it's ever been, especially with parity very much evident in the tournament.
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