It wasn’t the debut the FamilyMart-Enderun Titans had wanted in the 2019 PBA D-League Monday, as they bowed to the mighty Cignal-Ateneo, but it’s hard to ignore the performance of Valandre Chauca.
The 5-foot-10 floor general was scintillating. He erupted for 27 points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field – 5-of-11 from beyond the arc – along with five rebounds, three assists, and a steal in nearly 32 minutes.
But it wasn’t just the spectators at the packed Paco Arena who were left impressed with the way Chauca played.
“I think Chauca, number three? He can score. He played well,” praised Cignal-Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
With that, Chauca – who admitted that he had listened to Baldwin’s podcast interview with PBA legend Eric Menk thrice, just to know the decorated bench strategist even more – confessed he felt honored to earn such praise.
Not everyone gets to earn praises from Baldwin, after all.
“It’s an honor,” said the 24-year-old. “In the Philippines, you get attention for points and scoring. But in our system, I like to play the right way. Even though I’m scoring, it’s within the system, it’s good basketball. It’s not one-on-one.
“And I know coach Tab, he knows that it’s the only way the Philippines can evolve over time.”
The D-League season still has a long road ahead, and now all eyes will be on the former California Golden Bear owing to his impressive debut. So for him to be able to deliver every given day, confidence will be the major key.
“I try to be confident every game,” said Chauca, who arrived in Enderun Colleges in 2018.
“Confidence comes from preparation and hard work, so I just got to keep doing that, stay consistent, and the result will speak for itself.”
