CJ Cansino believes that University of the Philippines’ 79-57 demolition of National University to close out the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball elimination round is a sign that this year’s top seed is finally clicking right before the Final Four commences.
Cansino, who contributed 11 points on the back of 5-of-6 shooting from the field, felt that the Fighting Maroons’ performance showed that they could indeed follow their coaches’ game plan and not do it on their own on the floor.
“Na-prove lang nito pag nagtrabaho talaga kami as a team, hindi kami naging selfish, nagtiwala kami sa sistema, binigay namin yung effort namin — ito na yung hinahanap naming consistency na hinahanap namin buong season,” the 25-year-old skipper said.
“Hopefully, mas maging consistent kami sa mga parating na games kasi yun yung pinakamahalaga. Nagtiwala lang kami sa tinrabaho ng mga coaches, sa practice plan, and masaya kami na lumabas sa game na to.”
Cansino and his fellow seniors, namely JD Cagulangan and Malick Diouf, have taken on mentorship roles for their younger classmen.
And for them, it is about doing the best possible job they can during training and in actual games.
While the pressure is on for the Fighting Maroons to reclaim the crown they last won in Season 84, they are determined to do their best now that the season is heading towards its climax.
So many things can happen along the way that may help or deny UP from winning the championship, and it is all about controlling what they can control.
“Sa akin, you can’t teach experience, pero pwede mo ituro yung effort eh. Lagi naman sinasabi sa amin ni Coach Gold (Monteverde) na keep on pounding and kapag binigay naman namin yung best namin, kung anoman maging resulta, ok na kami dun,” said Cansino
“Basta alam namin na binigay namin yung effort namin and yun yung ituturo namin sa mga bata na kahit ano mangyari, hindi kami susuko at ibibigay namin yung best namin.”
