Another school produces a world-class student-athlete
After La Salle’s Ben Mbala was called by Cameroon to play in the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket, another foreign student-athlete has been summoned by his native country to play for his national team. Thursday morning, Centro Escolar University Scorpions’ Rod Ebondo has been called up by the Democratic Republic of Congo to play in the 2017 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers (Africa).
Ebondo, 22, was supposed to be the second reinforcement of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas in the 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup. However, the 6-foot-6 big man could not secure his Chinese visa on time, leaving the club team with just 11 players for the tournament.
After a successful Foundation Cup campaign that saw them make the Finals, the CEU Scorpions have been on a rampage in the UCBL as they are one of the top teams in the league. But with Ebondo about to leave his team on Sunday, November 19, coach Yong Garcia and CEU are already preparing for life without him as they have elected to sit out Ebondo for the rest of the regular season.
Congo, ranked 87 in the world, is grouped with Angola, Morocco, and Egypt. Ebondo and Congo will face Egypt on November 24, followed by a match-up against Morocco on the 25th and a showdown with Angola on the 26th.
