So far In the young UAAP season, one of the early revelations is the emergence of UST’s combo guard Ed Daquioag.
When UST opened its UAAP Season 78 campaign against the rebuilding Adamson Falcons, Daquioag immediately put on a show as he dropped 28 points on 7/13 shooting, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
Proving that his opening game feat was not a fluke, Daquioag once again asserted his will in their latest win against perennial title contenders Far Eastern University by leading all scorers with 18 points on 9/15 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
“Siguro, ang mga hardwork namin noong summer is paying off ngayon, at siyempre kailangan din namin ng dasal,” Daquioag remarked when asked about UST’s early surge.
In addition, Daquioag indicated that he and fellow senior Kevin Ferrer must assert themselves as their team’s veteran leaders. Given that this UST team is not as deep as it used to be with the departure of established players like Jeric Teng, Clark Bautista, Aljon Mariano and Paolo Pe, both of them will surely have to carry a heavy load on their shoulders for the entire season.
“Siyempre mabigat kasi panibagong role namin ito [as the team] leaders. As long as kaya naman namin to maintain ito sa season, tuloy-tuloy na namin ito,” he added.
Furthermore, Daquioag also aims to establish himself as UST’s go-to guy in times of need. With UST’s system laying a premium on creating scoring opportunities through fast ball movement, Daquioag can immediately make an impact given his shot-making skills and his ability to beat defenders off the dribble.
“Siguro dapat maging go-to guy ako. Iyon siguro,” he quipped. “Kagaya nga ng sabi ni coach, kapag walang kukuha ng bola, ako na ang kukuha doon. Pag off si Kevin, ako [ang papasok]. Inaadjust ko pa ang sarili ko at titingnan ito for the rest of the reason.”
For their next game, Daquioag and the Growling Tigers will have a big test ahead of them as they shall face the undefeated UP Fighting Maroons this coming Sunday, 2:00 pm, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
