Kean Baclaan feels right at home.
The 19-year-old is definitely at peace with his decision to take his talents to University of Santo Tomas (UST) as he’s enjoying the support not just of the Growling Tigers program, but of the entire community as well.
“‘Di ako nagkamali sa decision ko sa pagpunta sa UST,” said the cat-quick playmaker, who transferred to UST High after a year with De La Salle-Zobel. “‘Yung community napakaganda, at grabe rin ‘yung support.”
Baclaan previously told Tiebreaker Times that UST is the best place for him to unlock his full potential, and that is clearly evident with the way he has been performing in the ongoing 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
On Friday, he showed what kind of future the Tigers will have with him around. He exploded for 35 big points to help Builders Warehouse-UST disarm the twice-to-beat edge of Adalem-St. Clare, 98-93, in the quarterfinals.
Twenty-four of his points came in the second half as he powered a fiery assault that resulted in the conference-saving triumph. He shot 76-percent from the floor and also had three rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes off the bench.
For Baclaan, that’s all thanks to the nurturing environment he’s in.
“Bilang rookie, binibigyan nila ako ng free will na gawin yung gusto ko para sa manalo yung team namin,” said the 5-foot-8 guard from Muntinlupa. “Credit din sa veterans namin na hinayaan nila akong ilaro yung laro ko talaga.
“Sobrang saya kasi ang daming tumutulong sa amin at ang dami naming natututunan sa isa’t isa — from coach Albert [Alocillo], coach Jino [Manansala], to coach Bal. [David]. Lahat ng sinasabi nila, talagang sinusunod namin.”
Builders-UST has become the surprise team of the tournament with the way it turned things around after starting out with four consecutive losses, and there’s no denying that Baclaan is among the reasons behind such.
He is presently averaging 16.1 points on a 46.6-percent clip, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. Morale is sky-high for him and the group, and they plan on nothing else but to march into the semis to make their run even more memorable.
“Sobrang konti ng preparation namin sa D-League, one week lang. Nag-practice lang kami ng buo. Down 0-4, nagtuloy-tuoy ang panalo namin, so ayaw na namin magpatalo,” Baclaan said.
