JD Cagulangan allayed fears for the University of the Philippines' faithful and assured that he’s hopeful to be ready by the start of the second round.
The veteran playmaker clarified that he was just feeling under the weather which forced him to sit out the Fighting Maroons’ games against University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday and La Salle on Sunday.
“Masama lang ang pakiramdam talaga. Parang 'di ko feel yung laro, so 'di ko na pinilit,” he said after the Iskos succumbed to their first defeat, 68-56, at the hands of the Green Archers.
READ: La Salle takes top spot from UP at end of UAAP Season 87 first round
Cagulangan’s on-court presence was sorely missed by UP, as he’s been stellar this UAAP Season 87, averaging 13.4 points on 37-percent three-point shooting, to go with 6.0 assists.
Those marks have put him in prime position to contend for MVP honors.
JD back, UP back on track
Make no mistake, however, those individual awards are the least of the concerns for the 5-foot-9 court general.
What matters most for him is to be back on the court for State U.
“I’m just excited na makabalik and hopefully, makabalik agad. Nami-miss ko na maglaro kasama ng teammates ko. Last season ko na, so sana makabalik na agad,” he stated, targeting next weekend’s tiff against UST as his potential return.
And Cagulangan really isn’t putting too much thought on this first setback, knowing that coach Goldwin Monteverde’s words will always focus on the learnings that the team can pick up whether they win or lose.
“I know naman na marami kaming matututunan sa game na ito. 'Di namin pwedeng kalimutan yung mga natutunan sa game, so papanoorin namin ulit ito, babalikan lang namin yung mga pwede naming ma-learn sa game and move on lang sa next game,” he ended.
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