From transferees to veterans: JC Cullar, Jimboy Pasturan grateful for second chance in Benilde

Published December 21, 2022 5:42pm

Updated December 21, 2022 6:32pm

As confetti started to fall after Colegio de San Juan de Letran clinched the NCAA Season 98 crown final Sunday, the ultimate buzzer additionally signaled the top of the school basketball careers of JC Cullar and Jimboy Pasturan.

The two veterans performed out their closing 12 months of eligibility in Season 98 and had been essential to the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s marketing campaign, which ended a 20-year Final Four and Finals drought. 

While they might have given their all for the Blazers, Cullar and Pasturan didn’t begin their faculty basketball careers at 2544 Taft Avenue, Manila.

Cullar was from the University of the East, whereas Pasturan was from Adamson University. Two totally different gamers from two totally different groups crossed their paths at one level of their careers and ended up having one aim in thoughts for his or her chosen dwelling.

The Blazers captain stated transferring to Benilde was proof that one mustn’t surrender on chasing their desires.

“It’s a manifestation of what I have believed in na you only fail when you quit. When I got out of the UE program, it wasn’t easy to accept as a player because I started questioning myself [about whether] I was good enough. I almost thought of giving up and going back to Italy, [and] find something else I could. Then Benilde called [and] took a chance on me,” Cullar recalled to GMA Integrated News. 

Pasturan, in the meantime, described his Benilde journey as a curler coaster experience.

“[Ang] masasabi ko lang, sobrang roller coaster ng collegiate career ko. [Ang] dami kong natutunan, ‘di ko makalimutan to. The best talaga ang collegiate basketball,” he stated.

Both athletes acknowledged that their keep in Benilde was a interval of non-public development.

“Since I got here, it has been a growth journey for me, [I have] become a better player, [and] a better person. I’m grateful that God has given me the chance to keep chasing my dream and become a better player,” Cullar stated.

“Personally, [ang] dami kong nakilala, [naging] more responsible ako sa Benilde. Sa teammates ko, tinulungan nila ako para mag-grow as a person,” Pasturan added.

Now that the 2 gamers have closed one other chapter of their basketball careers, Cullar and Pasturan are each grateful for the chance given to them by the Taft-based faculty.

“I’ll always look back at my years in Benilde, and I’ll always be thankful for what this program has done for me,” Cullar stated.

“Sobrang blessed ako to be a part of CSB,” echoed Pasturan. —VBL, GMA Integrated News