BASKETBALL surely runs in the blood of a handful of this season's UAAP players.
From rookies to more experienced hoopers, some of college basketball's promising names draw family ties with ex-PBA players, national players, and former college standouts.
SPIN.ph listed down some active players in the Season 86 men's basketball tournament whose surnames ring a bell.
Eli Ramos (Adamson)

Eli Ramos is the younger brother of Gilas hotshot and Levanga Hokkaido's Dwight Ramos.
The Ramos brothers left the Ateneo stable in 2019, with Dwight turning pro and Eli choosing to relaunch his collegiate career at Adamson.
From a statistical standpoint five games into his rookie season, the 23-year-old Ramos has averages of 3.2 points, two rebounds, one assist, and 0.4 steal in 13:20 minutes of play.
His best outing to date was a team-high 12-point display in the Falcons' dramatic overtime win against defending champions and his former Blue Eagles side.
Lebron Nieto (Ateneo)

One of the youngest aces in this list is Lebron Nieto, who is the fifth student-athlete hailing from the renowned Nieto sporting clan.
Dr. Jet Nieto, the family's patriarch, was a two-time UAAP men's basketball champion for Ateneo turned orthopedic surgeon.
Lebron's older brothers Matt and Mike, won three UAAP titles and are both taking flight in their respective PBA careers with NLEX and Converge, respectively, while sister Shawntel earned back-to-back UAAP women's badminton championships.
Needless to say, the 18-year-old ex-Gilas Youth captain now carries the torch of the Nietos in college sports as a rookie with the Blue Eagles.
Amid a rough patch for the reigning champs, Nieto also continues to find his footing one match at a time with a five-game average of three points, one board, 0.8 dime, and 0.6 steal in 09:31 minutes of on-court action.
Joaqui Manuel (La Salle)

Joaqui Manuel has begun blazing his own trail in the same league where his older brother and former UP Maroon Jett emerged.
But for his kuya, the basketball journey came to an end in 2019 after one season with Ginebra to pursue his career in engineering.
The former Ateneo Blue Eaglet jumped ship to Taft and at present, is the last man standing from the Season 81 side that bowed down to FEU in the fourth seed playoff.
Five seasons later and five games in, Manuel continues to put in quality minutes (15:53 on average) with a net efficiency rate of +27 and five points, four rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 block, and 0.2 steal per game.
Mark Parks (NU)

Carrying the torch for the 'Parks' name at NU is no easy task by any stretch.
But for Ray Parks' younger brother Mark, carving his own niche away from the shadows of the two-time UAAP MVP is a personal challenge he's driven to pursue.
Both Ray and Mark have grown under the tutelage of seven-time Best Import, three-time champion, and PBA Hall of Famer Ray Parks Sr. — one of the most decorated and respected imports to grace Philippine basketball.
But as is the case with any worthwhile journey, the early stages prove to be the toughest as Mark only has 03:07 minutes of gametime under his belt thus far and just 1.2 points, 0.4 rebound, and 0.4 steal in three matches played for the Bulldogs.
Jack Cruz-Dumont (UE)

Beyond merely donning a recognizable family name, playing college ball in the Philippines means much more to Fil-Canadian ace Jack Cruz-Dumont as he honors the legacy of his late father John Dumont.
The Dumont patriarch made his mark in the country with the Pasig Pirates in the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA).
Jack, who once played for his dad's alma mater University of British Columbia in Canada, will soon be joined by his younger brother Hunter in repping the UE Warriors next season.
In his first year of treading uncharted waters in the UAAP, Cruz-Dumont continues to earn his stripes as a reliable asset with a five-game average of 7.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 assist, 0.8 steal, and 0.4 block in 21:36 minutes of action.
And as an emerging mainstay in UE head coach Jack Santiago's starting rotation, Cruz-Dumont proves that no stage is too big and no role is too much for a goal-driven rookie.
Chicco Briones (UP)

A rookie signing four years in the making, Lowell 'Chicco' Briones, Jr. carries not only the name of his former PBA player dad but also the golden aspiration of steering UP back atop the college basketball summit.
Lowell Briones, his father, was drafted fifth overall in 1997 by a Purefoods side which was coincidentally coached by a Fighting Maroon legend, champion, and MVP in Eric Altamirano.
After being held to limited minutes in three games played, Briones put pedal to the metal with a 14-point production in the most lopsided romp of Season 86 to date (31-point win) over a winless UST side.
Altogether, with one game missed out of UP's first five, the Cebuano playmaker tallied 3.4 points, 0.8 board, and 0.4 assist as his rookie campaign continues to gain much-needed traction amid a perfect 5-0 start for the Maroons.
Echo Laure (UST)

Of all the names in this list, Echo Laure has played the most minutes on average in the first five games (22:22) — albeit in the midst of UST's longest-ever losing skid at 19 in a row.
Echo is the younger brother of volleyball stars EJ and Eya, former UST Tigresses' women's volleyball captains and Rookie of the Year awardees (Seasons 77 and 81, respectively).
Their father, Eddie, earned every team and individual honor with the Batangas Blades in the MBA from 1998 to 2001 as a champion, MVP, first and second team selections, rookie of the year, and scoring champion before going third overall in the 2003 PBA Draft for Shell.
But as matters go from bad to worse for the winless Tigers, Laure has been maximizing valuable minutes under returning tactician Pido Jarencio with a five-game average of 5.8 points, 5.4 boards, one assist, 0.6 steal, and 0.4 block.
Kenji Duremdes (UST)

Kenji, son of Philippine basketball royalty Kenneth Duremdes, aims to make his mark early on in the collegiate ranks just as his esteemed father did with Adamson during the '90s.
After a promising amateur stint, the Duremdes patriarch went on to become one of the most decorated stars in the PBA as the 1998 league MVP, two-time Finals MVP, and six-time champion with Sunkist and Alaska.
But just like his teammate Echo, the second-generation Duremdes talent's persistence has yet to reflect in his numbers with just 08:37 minutes of play in UST's five opening losses.
There, he averaged a meager 1.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.8 assist, 0.4 steal, and 0.2 block with only two games thus far in which he had a scoring contribution.
Motivated by the hunger of capturing an elusive first win, there's no way to go but up for Duremdes & Co. in their bid to save the Tigers from a second straight lackluster season.
BONUS: Kylle Magdangal (UST)
Although the above-mentioned list delves on players carrying recognizable basketball names, another player worth noting is UST's Kylle Magdangal.
The California-based Kylle is the brother of Kenji and also the son of Kenneth Duremdes, who committed to the España side in 2022.
It hasn't been the best of starts for Magdangal this season with only a single assist recorded in 02:29 minutes played in four outings.
But like every single player on this list, the long road to reach a lifelong dream has only just begun and the grind to get there never stops.
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