There are a lot of historic basketball families in the country. Among them are one of the most prolific dynasties in the sport, the Webbs. From the legendary Freddie Webb to Jason, and more recently, Joshua, all have made an imprint in collegiate basketball. The common denominator in his clan’s latter generation is that most received their tertiary education at the De La Salle University. As such, it is expected that the latest member of the family will be heading to Taft.
Noah Webb, a wingman from UAAP Season 77 Juniors Basketball third placers the De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers, did not enroll where his uncle and his brother spent their collegiate lives. Instead, his collegiate journey will end up somewhere further north – to the University of the Philippines.
The young Webb shared how it is to live up to the Webb legacy every time he plays. “Of course, when I step on the court and I see I have ‘Webb’ on my back, and the people who came before me – my brother who excelled in high school and in college, and my grandfather, and my tito, of course, there are expectations to live up to.” However, Noah expressed that he just has to remember that he is a rookie in the college game, and he does not expect to do much. Moreover, he also admitted that he has so many things to learn and improve on.
Noah, upon graduating from DLSZ, received offers to play for UP and De La Salle –College of Saint Benilde. When asked on why he chose to go to UP, he said, “First up, my main priority is my education.” Having no course of his liking in CSB made the decision easy for the young Webb. The 6’1” swingman added that he passed the entrance exam for DLSU, “La Salle? They are not really interested in me, but I got into the course I wanted.” It was then a matter of choice between having a chance to study and play for UP, or going to DLSU and wait for two to three years before having the chance to play for the varsity team. He ended up choosing the option of going maroon.
His degree of choice? The former Junior Archer plans to take up Economics in college. He exclaimed that “I just always found it interesting in high school and I wish to pursue it.” Taking up this course could also help him someday run and take over his family’s business according to the young upstart.
Aside from the education and opportunities that UP could offer, Webb singled out the atmosphere of being with the team as the game-changer in his decision. He said, “They are a great set of guys and they are easy to get along with. Everyone wants to win. Everyone’s adapting to this new system. It’s not hard because everyone’s really nice.”
When told about the uncertainty of whether the two-year residency rule on UAAP high school to UAAP college transferring will be repealed or not, Noah hoped that it will not be a problem. “My tita, who is a close friend of Brother Bernie [Oca], who is the head of La Salle [Zobel], secured my release papers.”
Webb expressed that if he ever got the chance to be part of the line-up for the UAAP this year, he hopes to provide instant energy on defense, which is the primary reason coach Joe Ward put him into the roster for the ongoing FilOil Flying V Cup tournament. He added that, “In the new system, it’s all defensive-minded, because if we play defense, the offense would come.”
Sometimes in life we need to make unexpected choices to make a name for ourselves. Thus, Noah decided to take his surname somewhere else to continue living up to the legacy of his family and distinguish himself as the Webb who turned it around for the place he chose to call home.
