Editor’s Note: Every week, SPIN.ph will pick the five best performers per position in the ongoing UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
OH, how things have changed!
It only took one week for the league status quo to be shaken to its core.
From winless teams getting their first tastes of victory, predictable routs, big character-building victories, and easily the upset of the season, Week 3 had everything to offer.
With that being said, let’s take a look at this week’s top performers.
Guard: Forthsky Padrigao (UST)
8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal vs NU
Padrigao continues to be one of the best playmakers of the league, but the early returns have been suspect when it came to his shooting.
But on Saturday against NU, UST’s lead guard showcased why he’s at the level that he’s in, picking his spots before commandeering the late charge that helped score the come-from-behind win.
When push came to shove, Padrigao took it upon himself to deliver the dagger that earned the Growling Tigers their biggest win of the season.
Guard: Gjerard Wilson (UE)
10 points (2/2 3PT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist vs FEU; 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists vs La Salle
Slow and steady, the Fil-Am guard has gotten his groove for UE much to coach Jack Santiago’s liking.
Wilson is as deadly as they come in the open court, fearless in slashing to the basket as he leaves his defenders in the dust.
That was in full display in the Red Warriors’ first win of the season against FEU, as he sparked the team’s huge fourth quarter charge before Ethan Galang took the Recto side home.
Forward: John Abate (UE)
4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal vs FEU; 20 points (3/3 3PT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal vs La Salle
Abate’s role in UE is plain and simple: provide energy whenever he’s on the court, may it be on offense or defense.
But the Fil-Am forward kicked his game to another gear, as he also showcased that he can stroke it out from deep, punishing the La Salle defense as he tallied a career-best showing in the Red Warriors’ upset victory on Sunday.
Abate may be largely seen as one of the few role players behind Precious Momowei, but his performance in UE’s back-to-back wins should earn him the Collegiate Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week honors.
Forward: Wello Lingolingo (UE)
7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist vs FEU; 18 points (6/10 3PT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal vs La Salle
Talk about keeping the faith.
Lingolingo is the longest tenured member of the Red Warriors, as he stuck it out in Recto even as his peers transferred elsewhere.
Now enjoying the full trust of the coaches, he has thrived as one of the main contributors for UE and paid that belief with a career-best showing against the Green Archers, where he drained six three-pointers to announce his arrival as one of the league’s most lethal gunners.
Center: Quentin Millora-Brown (UP)
11 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist vs FEU
Same old, same old for UP and QMB.
Millora-Brown’s towering presence in the paint was a difference-maker for the Fighting Maroons, allowing them to pull away from the pesky Tamaraws.
Almost a guaranteed double-double, QMB has really wasted no time putting the league on notice.
6th Man: Kristian Porter (Ateneo)
8 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block vs Adamson
It wasn’t pretty, but Ateneo finally got the job done.
And the rookie was a big factor for earning the breakthrough, laying it all on the floor as he went toe-to-toe with Cedrick Manzano, easily the hardest-working local big in the collegiate game today.
Porter has been steady in his freshman year for the Blue Eagles, and if he continues to play the way he does, there’s no question that he can replicate his solid career in the juniors division in the seniors level.
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