Rhenz Abando marked his return to the Philippines the identical manner he left it — with a championship.
The high-flying Filipino import and his Anyang KGC staff reigned supreme within the Korean Basketball League (KBL), dethroning defending champion Seoul SK as Abando added one other title to his rising trophy assortment.
Prior to leaving for Korea, Abando steered Colegio de San Juan de Letran to a Season 97 sweep to ship the college’s back-to-back NCAA titles whereas additionally serving to University of Santo Tomas to a UAAP Season 82 finals look earlier than he determined to switch to Muralla.
And the 6-foot-2 cager has his fruitful collegiate stint to thank for the chance to make a reputation for himself within the worldwide scene.
“Sobrang laking tulong sakin na maglaro [sa] collegiate kasi kung hindi ako naglaro dito, hindi naman ako makikilala at [makakapunta] sa abroad,” stated Abando, who was feted by the Collegiate Press Corps because the 2021-2022 Basketball Player of the Year on Monday evening.
Rhenz Abando shares how his collegiate stint within the Philippines helped him attain his standing now
“Sobrang laking bagay kasi kung ‘di ako nakapag-college dito… siguro ‘di ako mabibigyan ng opportunity na makapaglaro overseas, ‘di rin ako makikilala.” #CollegiatePCAwards pic.twitter.com/D15w25N5xH
— GMA Sports (@gmasportsph) May 30, 2023
(“Being able to play collegiate ball was a big help because if I didn’t play here, I wouldn’t have been scouted and gone abroad.”)
Aside from Abando, additionally given the identical award have been Thirdy Ravena (2019-2020) and Ange Kouame (2022-2023) whereas Tab Baldwin, Goldwin Monteverde, and Bonnie Tan have been hailed the highest coaches for steering their respective groups to championships in UAAP and NCAA.
Tan, who was the architect behind Letran’s three-peat feat, stated that timing matched with assets are a recipe for achievement.
“If you have the chance to prove yourself… go for it. Right timing, right materials, right resources, malaking chance na mananalo tayo,” stated Tan who parted methods with Letran a month in the past after three seasons to deal with NorthPort within the PBA.
(“If you have the chance to prove yourself… go for it. Right timing, right materials, right resources, there’s a good chance we’ll win.”)
In the volleyball scene, the one Rookie MVPs of the UAAP ladies’s division – Bella Belen of National University and Angel Canino of De La Salle University – have been hailed because the Collegiate Volleyball Players of the Year for 2022 and 2023, respectively.
In the NCAA, Benilde’s Mycah Go and Gayle Pascual acquired the annual honor for years 2022 and 2023, respectively, after persevering with the Lady Blazers’ dynasty with back-to-back championship sweeps in Seasons 97 and 98.
“Sobrang thankful din kasi hindi namin ineexpect kasi maraming players ang UAAP. So it’s a blessing kasi napasama kami dito,” stated Belen.
(“I’m so thankful because we didn’t expect because there are a lot of players in the UAAP. So it’s a blessing that we were able to be part of this.”)
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
