MPBL Q-finals: Looking at the Bataan Risers-Caloocan Supremos match-up Game 1

MPBL Q-finals: Looking at the Bataan Risers-Caloocan Supremos match-up Game 1

by rick olivares

Best-of-Three series

Elimination round record:

Bataan 23-2

Caloocan 11-14

The top seed (Bataan) versus the eighth seed (Caloocan).

When Bataan played Caloocan last November 27, 2018, at the Batangas City Coliseum, the Risers came out on top, 94-81.

Caloocan was in the midst of a four-match slide with the Bataan game the third of the losses. The Supremos went 7-2 after that with a three-match win skein heading into the playoffs of the MPBL Datu Cup.

However, they have to be concerned. 

In the North Division of the MPBL, they lost all their matches against the top seven teams. Every one of them. 

In their last five wins, they won by an average of 5.0 points. All those games went down to the wire. 

Looking at the Supremos, they surprisingly play a short rotation.

Rene Pacquiao and Mark Sarangay play the four and five spots at the same time or alternate. The two are reliable point producers for Caloocan, but the bulk of their scoring comes from their backcourt of Almond Vosotros and Cedric Labing-isa. Their two former FEU Tamaraws – Monbert Arong and Paul Sanga – also get playing time. Damian Lasco, Danny Marilao, and JR Ongteco round out the regular rotation.

Actually, Arong is the only one who can create off the dribble and yet, he isn’t used as much in the manner that made him a star with the University of Visayas and FEU.

They Supremos love one thing – to shoot from the outside. Three players shoot better than 30% from beyond the arc – Vosotros, Sanga, and Mar Villahermosa. Of their frontcourt players, only one would rather bulldoze his way inside and that is Pacquiao (a cousin of the more famous Manny who was drafted by KIA in the PBA). 

So this isn’t a very good rebounding team.

What must Caloocan do to stay in the game against Bataan?

-       Their main men must stay out of trouble.

-       Take it to the basket because their penchant for bombing for the outside hasn’t worked against the top teams. 

-       If their bench can step up and provide quality minutes, they have a chance.

-       Battle the Risers tooth and nail for supremacy inside the lane.

When they first clashed, the Risers were not with Richard Escoto, Yvan Ludovice, Arvie Bringas, and Barkley Eboña. So Bataan has gotten better scoring wise, defensive-wise, and in rebounding.

And while I am not crazy about a lot of one-on-one plays, Bataan has more creative players in Ludovice, Raymundo, Vince Tolentino, Byron Villarias, Escoto, and Gab Dagangon. If the Risers opt to break down the Supremos one-on-one they can get to the hoop or find the open man when the help arrives. 

Having said that, here are what we think are Bataan’s keys to victory:

-       Limit Vosotros’ output. He is the only one with any sort of consistency on that team.

-       Keep Sarangay and Pacquiao off the boards and win those rebounds. 

-       Attack the Supremos inside because they already play a short rotation. When you have their bench on the court, they will break down because of the lack of confidence and playing time.

-       Run. Caloocan isn’t a team that runs. They are a slow and plodding squad.

-       Bataan has to make their shots from the outside to open up the lane for their bigs.

-       Overwhelm Caloocan with the Risers’ depth and talent.

-       Get the crowd at the Bataan Peoples’ center involved. That will rattle any opponent’s cage.

Looking at the Bataan Risers’ win over Pasig

It is all smiles for Achie Iñigo and the Bataan Risers after beating the Pasig Pirates to finish with the MPBL's best elimination round record (23-2) and homecourt advantage throughout the play-offs.

Looking at the Bataan Risers’ win over Pasig

by rick olivares

It is a rousing end to a fantastic, historic, and most incredible regular season for the Bataan Risers.

In their final game of the elimination round, they plastered the Pasig Pirates, 105-87, to finish with a 23-2 record. Best in the league and with a nine-match win streak. They barge into the play-offs on a winning note. And a full crew.

Robbie Celiz returned to the team giving head coach Jojo Lastimosa a near full crew. The only ones missing are Barkley Eboña who will be activated for the play-offs and Ervin Grospe who is still on the mend after a season-ending knee injury in only the first game of the season.

Now, after a seemingly interminable elimination round, the Risers have taken the next step to scaling the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League summit.

And how.

Five straight triples to open the game? 

Talk about shooting woes. On the road at the Navotas Sports Complex, Pamboy Raymundo, Byron Villarias, and Gab Dagangon finding the range. Then Robbie Celiz scoring two straight buckets. Bernie Bregondo ending the first period with a huge block on Rodan Reducto. What a statement.

And how about those free throws? 11-15. Not bad. And the overall field goal percentage was at 50%. Talk about humming.

The proud Pirates with their cadre of PBA veterans battled back in a much closer second half. The first half cushion helped ward off the Pirates. The second half was more grind it out basketball. And the Risers can play both ways – run and gun and half-court/pound-it-inside. 

We will say this again… when Bataan lost Jeepy Faundo and Jayjay Alejandro to the PBA, there was concern of who will be brought in to replace their output. We said back then that Gab’s presence would alleviate that. We have seen the explosions he detonated while playing for the Perpetual Help Altas alongside Scottie Thompson and Bright Akhuetie. 

Gab thrives in a team where the spotlight doesn’t have to be on him. He does all the little things too – hustles on defense, rebounds, passes. 

To illustrate that, he scored a game high 26 points on 83% shooting, grabbed three boards, and pilfered the ball once. 

He has stepped into the starting five and given the Risers a massive lift. Even without Gary David for the game, Bataan was a handful. Four of the five starters scored in double digits. Villarias had 13, Raymundo scored 12, and Alfred Batino chipped in 10. Celiz came off the bench to chip in 13. 

Bataan shooting well and rebounding well has been a hallmark of many of their wins especially in these dog days of the season. However, one stat that any coach would be proud of is the assist total. Sure, the assist total can be misleading because the extra passes could be there but not the shooting.

In this game, Pasig passed for 22 assists. A huge number already. Bataan? Thirty-five Yes, 35 assists.

Achie Iñigo, oft left to grapple for playing time with the late season addition of Yvan Ludovice, had a game high six assists. Raymundo and Richard Escoto added five apiece while Vince Tolentino and Ludovice chalked up four each. 

Now, this is a team firing on all cylinders.

Got The Wizenard Series from Kobe Bryant

Created by Kobe Bryant and written by Wesley King, The Wizenard Series follows the story of the worst youth basketball team, the West Bottom Badgers. When they get a new coach in Rolabi Wizenard, it changes everything for them. 

This is a compilation of uncorrected advance proofs. Meaning, this is only a draft and an advance copy for review purposes.

Honored that FullyBooked has chosen me to be one of them. Watch for the review.

San Sebastian, Fatima set up BBI U25 title clash

San Sebastian, Fatima set up BBI U25 title clash

by rick olivares

San Sebastian College-Recoletos and Our Lady of Fatima University underwent different challenges on the way to the Under-25 Division championship series of the sulit.ph BBI tournament at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center.

The Stags, now practically fielding a team minus their NCAA veterans had to sweat it past Technological Institute of the Philippines, 75-72, in the semi-finals. The OLFU Phoenix on the other hand had more or less an easier time in bowling over AMA Computer College in the other final four series, 82-67.

San Sebastian, with their main stars such Allyn Bulanadi, Alvin Capobres, and JM Calma now concentrating on D-League play, leaned on their rookies out of Assumption Montessori School of Cagayan De Oro, Milo Janao and Rommel Calahat who first showed their wares in the NBTC National Finals two years ago. However, it was the Stags’ homegrown point guard, Kean Baclaan who struck the killer blows for his side.

TIP looked like they were going to cruise to the championship game when they posted a 46-30 lead when Ximone Sandagon hit a free throw at the 7:24 mark of the third period.

The Stags came roaring back behind the shooting of Janao, Calahat, and Baclaan when they dropped a 20-9 bomb in the final minutes of the third period to come within a bucket, 55-53. Incidentally, all three came off the bench with the starters unable to get going.

It was Baclaan who foreshadowed his endgame heroics when he drilled a triple to make it 55-53 with 41 second remaining in the third period.

Come early fourth quarter, TIP seemed to weather the Stags’ second win when Cameroonian center Papa Ndiaye helped his side to a 64-59 lead; time down to 6:55. SSCR came storming back to notch the count at 64-all following a Janao triple at the 5:37 mark. 

The two teams battled through four deadlocks and two lead changes the rest of the way. 

Ndiaye who was TIP’s fount of strength turned from her to goat when he missed two free throws with two seconds left that could have broken a 72-all tie with 27 seconds left. Incredibly, TIP was able to grab the offensive rebound, but Jopet Soriano missed the putback which SSCR’s Klenn Viñas hauled down.

The Stags worked the clock. With Janao and Calahat closely guarded, Baclaan unleased a triple with five seconds left in the game clock from the left side of the arc that hit nothing but net.

TIP looked to send their match into overtime but Jayson Jimenez missed his triple attempt. Ndiaye grabbed the offensive rebound and with a chance to for an unconventional three-point play, he missed the first free throw. He also deliberately missed the second but TIP was unable to secure the rebound as SSCR celebrated for the hard fought win.

Janao led SSCR with 18 points while Calahat, playing forward, added 15 points and 12 rebounds. Baclaan 13 points. 

A disconsolate Ndiaye top scored with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Guilber Carurucan and Jopet Soriano each added 11 points to TIP’s effort. 

TIP played without their star forward Bryan Santos who sat out the game with an injury.

In the other BBI U25 semis match, OLFU jumped on AMA from the opening jump ball. The Phoenix led 67-40 after three periods of play before they emptied their bench. 

Denzel Gomez led OLFU with 14 points off the bench. Starters VJ Alarcon and Cas De Vera added 12 and 11 points respectively. 

Fran Asuncion led AMA with 12 points.

The title clash between OLFU and SSCR will be on Saturday, March 9, at 1pm at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center.

4 points from UAAP Women’s Volleyball: A big win by UP, UST’s bad luck, Adamson’s must win and an ugly win by Ateneo

4 points from UAAP Women’s Volleyball: A big win by UP, UST’s bad luck, Adamson’s must win and an ugly win by Ateneo

by rick olivares

A win that ensures there will be a Final Four (UP’s five set win against DLSU – 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12), a crippling injury that could threaten to send the season on a tailspin (Milena Alessandrini), and must win (Adamson prevailing against NU in three sets), and an ugly win (Ateneo’s three-set triumph over UE).

That was the UAAP women’s volleyball weekend in a nutshell.

Let’s break it down into our thoughts.

A big and gritty win by UP

I thought that UP got the job done with defense – by blocking at the net and limiting the output of Desiree Cheng, and terrific floor coverage. Hindi nga mapatay ng La Salle ang bola. If the wing players were being stopped, La Salle couldn’t deal with Tots Carlos and Aei Gannaban late in the game. 

The girls in green thrive when they take a lead and are scoring with aplomb. You stick with them step-by-step and give as good as you get, the seeds of doubt plant themselves. 

La Salle had a nice first set, but once UP tightened their defense, that turned everything around. The Lady Fighting Maroons didn’t lose their nerve. Even when La Salle was coming back (the fourth set), it was obvious that they weren’t going to let this slip away.

We’ve seen this before… the Lady Fighting Maroons – yes, this bunch – get a win over La Salle or Ateneo. And impressive fashion, I might add. The trick is to do it again. 

As for La Salle, we’ve seen this before… even with some of these players. They played spottily against Adamson and NU in the past two games. When they ran into a mentally tough veteran UP team, they unraveled. Of course, we’ve seen this before and they have always bounced back.

UST can’t seem to catch a break.

It seems that where Milena Alessandrini goes, UST goes. When she got hurt last season, the Golden Tigresses’ fortunes soured. Yes, even during her rookie year it was obvious the Fil-Italian was going to be a force. 

In this game against FEU, she was having a so-so performance. Yet she was there and UST was leading. When she went down following an awkward landing, it was such a disheartening feeling. And unfortunately, try as they did, Alessandrini’s injury took something out of UST. They fell in four sets.

Remember they already lost Tin Francisco in the pre-season to an injury. 

You have to feel for Kung-Fu Reyes and his girls. They finally have all the weapons in place to compete then this happens. But there’s a long ways to go. How they respond to this especially in their next match will tell on their fortunes for the season.

On that Adamson-NU match

And speaking of a team that lost a crucial piece, NU is trying to get by after losing setter Joyme Cagande. Now the losses of Jasmin Nabor, Risa Sato, Jorelle Singh, and Roma Doromal really hurt. Imagine if they still had them in uniform. 

I will not give too much credit to Adamson for their win. They should win seeing as they are playing against a team of 10 players with seven rookies. Mahiya naman sila kung matalo pa. 

In a short season, I am skeptical of coaching changes, but maybe that shocking loss to UE was the last straw for them. Maybe they are hoping that players can stop making excuses and stand up for themselves. It did work for UE last season, so maybe it could for Adamson. Nevertheless, good luck to them.

It was an ugly win for Ateneo, but it is a win.

It is a three set win by Ateneo but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Am I suprised that Ateneo struggled against UE? Just a bit. Yes, UE has a better team, but still, the talent level and championship experience is different so Ateneo should get this.

UE has gotten better since last season. The Lady Red Warriors have talent make no doubt. They have the veterans and some talented newbies. We saw them defeat Adamson that ended Airess Padda’s stint in San Marcelino. The Lady Red Warriors can make serious inroads this season if they can play with consistency and limit their errors. 

If UE didn’t shoot themselves in the foot for all their unforced errors in the first two sets, who knows? Maybe this would have gone on to one more set, maybe the full length. Maybe if Mean Mendrez played a lot earlier, she could have helped. Could have. 

I figure UE, will pick up some more wins along the way.

It seems that Katrina Tolentino is the only one showing any consistency for Ateneo. And oh, Jules Samonte who has come up once more. And after the opening day loss to La Salle, Maddie Madayag has elevated her game. 

For Oliver Almadro’s team to make serious inroads, they will need more from Bea De Leon and Ponggay Gaston. 

At the NCR Palaro at the Marikina Sports center

Looking at Bataan's win over Paranaque

Looking at Bataan's win over Paranaque

by rick olivares

This match was a tale of two teams going in different directions.

The Bataan Risers are moving on into the play-offs while the Parañaque Patriots who after being on the receiving end of a 102-73 blowout would drop to 9-16, and out of play-off contention. According to Patriots official and former coach Nomar Isla, it is about building for the future. 

In games like these, it is about finishing strong. 

Bataan clearly wanted to not only keep its streak going and defend their homecourt, but to also make sure that they improve with every game. 

The onus was on Patriot to spoil the home game and come out like gangbusters. Well, if you think jacking up shot after shot from beyond the arc by essentially one man is good strategy then you’re in trouble. 

And the game was like a track meet with Bataan emerging triumphant for their 22^ndwin in 24 matches; a MPBL best. 

The win by the Bataan Risers over the Parañaque Patriots was the fourth time the former hit the century mark in 24 matches in this Datu Cup of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.

The highest tally the Risers hit was against Mandaluyong El Tigre, 109-65, followed by a 108-77 triumph over Basilan Steel. And there was the 101-68 win over the Quezon City Capitals.

This was their third straight blowout win – the 44-point blowout of Mandaluyong and the 17-point, 81-64, victory over the Marikina Shoemasters last week.

This was also the third game where every single player available (excluding the injured) was sent in the game and scored. The other two matches were against Basilan and Mandaluyong. Against Muntinlupa, every player Lastimosa sent in scored but there were a few who didn’t get off the bench. So, this triumph against Parañaque was also a feel-good win because everyone contributed something including its cadre of homegrown Bataeños in Gary David, Arvie Bringas, Gio Espuelas, Christian Capuli, and Francis Ebidag. They definitely gave the home crowd that packed the Bataan Peoples’ Center something to cheer for.

With one more elimination round game to go against the Pasig Pirates before the play-offs, the Bataan Risers are where exactly their coaching staff as led by Jojo Lastimosa, want them to be – firing on all cylinders.

This is the best stretch of basketball that the Risers have put together. 

Against the overmatched Patriots, Bataan looked to put the game beyond doubt in the first half with Gary David and Gab Dagangon dropping buckets. Were it not for Paolo Castro’s and RR Garcia’s triples (including a buzzer-beating shot by Ryan Monteclaro), the blowout would have begun much earlier.

As such, Bataan went into the half with a 47-44 lead. 

You have to like the adjustments that the coaching staff made with essentially Dagangon putting the clamps on Castro in the third period. Castro only had one attempt which he missed and he turned the ball over twice. Three touch. Zero points.

By third period’s end, the score was 76-60. It was over.

Every single Riser scored in this game. Dagangon had a scintillating performance. Not only did he do it on defense, but he also scored a team high 21 points, he also added five rebounds. His reverse lay-up in the third period where he flicked the ball up the backboard to gentle nestle into the basket is one of the game’s highlights. 

We have said since we began covering the Risers that Dagangon is one of the team’s most important players because of his myriad of talents that enables him to get it done on both ends of the floor. 

When he was playing for the Perpetual Help Altas, he was overshadowed by their own Fab Four in Scottie Thompson, Harold Arboleda, Juneric Baloria, and Justine Alano who is now with Parañaque. And then Bright Akhuetie came in further diminishing his impact. But Dagangon I always thought was someone who could be a game changer. He is absolutely fearless and never complains about what he gets on the court. 

When Jayjay Alejandro went to the PBA, some quarters feared that there would be a drop in the team’s scoring. Untrue, I said back then because Dagangon has since taken up the cudgels in a much bigger way.

And speaking of cudgels, one player who seems to have been lost in the shuffle since the acquisition of Yvan Ludovice is Byron Villarias. The uncle of Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena finally rediscovered his scoring touch with 14 points. And he’ll challenge Dagangon’s gravity defying lay-up for play of the game with his nifty spin around two defenders for a lay-up. 

Richard Escoto was terrific as well with 11 points and six boards.

One massive advantage for Bataan was its rule of the boards. The 63-45 advantage saw the Risers scoot for 22 fastbreak points to the paltry five of Parañaque. 

Bataan’s willingness to take the ball to the rack saw them net a 58-28 advantage in points in the paint. When you’re able to do that, you will see a massive disparity in field goal percentage. The Risers hit 48% of their shots while Parañaque netted only 30% accuracy.

It is the last elimination round home game before the play-offs. 

Now, Bataan’s march continues.

Juan Gomez De Liaño leads UP to BBI win vs MLQU

Juan Gomez De Liaño leads UP to BBI win vs MLQU

by rick olivares

Juan Gomez De Liaño rescued a Ricci Rivero-less University of the Philippines Fighting Marrons Team B with an end-game explosion to steer his side to an 88-75 win in the sulit.ph BBI tournament at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center.

With the MLQU Stallions breathing down UP’s necks, 78-70, time down to 4:10 in the final frame, Gomez De Liaño, playing his first Team B match in the tourney, scored the Fighting Maroons’ next eight points and assisted Cameroonian center Bruel Kamga on his twinner. The super sophomore also rejected Ryan Sual’s attempt as MLQU mustered only two points in that span.

UP built a 73-60 lead by third quarter’s end, but saw MLQU battle back with a 10-0 run to start the fourth period. Then came Gomez De Liaño’s heroics. 

The Fighting Maroons ruled the boards and scored 20 second chance points and a whopping 52 points inside the paint. Yet for their 52-43 advantage in rebounds, the Stallions were able to keep pace by out running UP to the tune of 29-13 in fastbreak points. 

Gomez De Liaño led with 22 points while adding eight assists and six rebounds. His presence gave the other UP starters a lot of space to operate and for the first time this tournament saw a more balanced scoring spree for their team. Felix Jaboneta added 14 points while Kamga finished with 12 points and seven boards. Jayboy Gob and Jaggie Gregorio each added nine points.

For MLQU, it was all Sual who topscored with 30 points while center Sam Peralta chipped in 14 markers and seven caroms. 

The sulit.ph BBI tourney is a showcase for collegiate Team B squads filled with UAAP and NCAA Team A hopefuls. 

UAAP Women’s Volleyball: The NU Lady Bulldogs surprise, UST and Ateneo rise

UAAP Women’s Volleyball: The NU Lady Bulldogs surprise, UST and Ateneo rise

by rick olivares

If we can crib legendary American statesman Benjamin Franklin’s statement about death and taxes being only the two sure things in life, we can add La Salle women’s volleyball to the mix.

The Lady Spikers have been the class of collegiate women’s volleyball for over a decade now. They are a machine where the parts change but yet, they keep on rolling. While it was an error-filled game with Adamson, they still had enough to take the Lady Falcons down in three sets. 

They – expectedly if I may say so – are the sole undefeated team this early. And they are looking more and more like a team that is ready to annex their fourth straight title; a feat they have not yet accomplished. As for the rest of the field… now this is something else.

Let’s count the ways after this topsy-turvy weekend.

We have to start with the National University Lady Bulldogs’ win over UE.

This is the big head shaker. NU lined up 11 players at the start of the season then in their very first game lost starting setter Joyme Cagande to a season-ending injury. Three of their current players – Audrey Paran, Rose Doria, and Joni Chavez -- were in uniform last season. And they beat UE with their veterans in three sets!

Chavez played libero in the last two years and with Cagande out, she’s now the playmaker and she did much better than UE counterpart Laiza Bendong. Ivy Lacsina led the team in scoring with 18 while Princess Robles managed nine in spite of somewhat struggling. 

This says a lot about both teams. NU with its rookies coming up from multi-titled teams have a winner’s mentality while UE has talent but not that mental fortitude to get them over the hump. 

The Golden Tigresses make a huge statement.

What a win! And it sends UST soaring and highly-fancied UP crashing down to earth. UST’s loss to Ateneo mid-week woke them up. And now you can actually that head coach Kung-Fu Reyes has a team to really contend. He has weapons in the middle (Minela Alessandrini and rookie Kecelyn Galdones out of UE high) and the wings in Eya Laure and Sisi Rondina. There’s capable support in Mafe Galanza, Alina Bicar, and Dimdim Pacres. 

With other steady contributions, now Rondina doesn’t need to over-exert herself. The other options make this squad deadly. 

The Golden Tigresses could have folded after losing the first set and holding fast in the second. Then they gained their confidence and played better. This is a feel-good win for UST.

The Ateneo Lady Eagles are revving up.

Remember the quote from head coach Oliver Almadro about the team playing their worst in the opening day loss to La Salle and their best still to come? You think he was lying?

Two huge wins over teams with talent and contenders. The mid-week win over UST and now a five-setter against FEU. This is like telling them that any confidence they gained from the final four loss last year is precisely that – last year. 

I like Kat Tolentino finally leading this team and Jules Samonte regaining her confidence after losing her starting slot in the pre-season. Samonte will get better as the season progresses and I suspect she will play a huge part in what they want to achieve. Maddie Madayag has played well in two straight matches. However, right now, it is all about consistency from all quarters perhaps save for Tolentino. The scoring and defending from the middle is still spotty. Imagine if Bea De Leon can put up big numbers that would really help this team. But they need more options from the wings. 

Nevertheless, this is a huge win that gives them a lot of confidence.

Adamson has the talent to compete. At this point, I think for Coach Airess Padda, her squad needs that winner’s mentality. That is the same boat that UE finds itself in. 

As for UP, it would be interesting to see how they bounce back from this loss.

Leonard Santillan: Making that adjustment

Leonard Santillan: Making that adjustment

by rick olivares

For Leonard “Santi” Santillan, life is all about making adjustments.

After spending two seasons with the University of Visayas in his native Cebu (he hails from Lapu Lapu City), Santi transferred to De La Salle University where for two seasons, he gained prominence for his strong and heady play inside the shaded lane.

Now, he is playing 3x3 ball with the Bataan Risers alongside three former UAAP foes in Adamson’s Sean Manganti, Ateneo’s Anton Asistio, and University of the East’s Alvin Pasaol.

There is the adjustment in terms of style of play as 3x3 ball is different if not faster-paced, and his new teammates.

“Nung dumating ako sa La Salle, na-home sick ako ng grabe,” recalled Santillan. “Dumating sa point na gusto ko na umuwi. Kaso inisip ko yung big picture na para sa future koi to kaya nagsumikap ako.”

Having hurdled that initial challenge, Santi is literally having a ball right now. 3x3 ball included. 

“Masaya kasama rito at lalo na sa mga bagong teamamtes ko,” he said referring to his Risers 3x3 teammates. “Malaking tulong din na meron kapwa Bisaya (Pasaol) rito.”

“Nakalaban ko silang lahat at malaki respeto ko sa kanilang lahat. Lalo na ngayon teammates ko sila at nakita ko yung work ethic nila.”

Coming over to the nation’s capital is also huge for Santillan because he got to meet up with one of his idols from Cebu in former PBA player Dondon Hontiveros who was on hand for the Chooks to Go 3x3 Pilipinas Leg 1 tourney at the SM Megamall. “Si Dondon kasi kilalang shooter and importante kasi na marami kang weapons at hindi lang sa loob ng lane. Importante meron kang shooting.”

And Santillan took the opportunity to shake Hontiveros’ hands hoping that some of his pistolero mojo would rub off on him. True enough, it was Santillan who buried the game winner during their second 3x3 match against the Bacoor City Strikers. And in the championship game against Grindhouse Kings Pasig, he knocked down big shots down the stretch from long range.

After the first leg championship was secured, a tired yet jubilant Santillan could not contain his excitement and joy. “Mahirap kalaban yung Pasig. Nung 3x3 pre-season wala yata silang talo. Pero kami? Adjust lang kahit malalaki rin sila. Ganoon lang naman ang buhay di ba? Adjust at laban.”

On to the next leg.