By: Jerod Orcullo
Poised for another run at the finals this season, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA sits firmly atop the NCAA Season 100 Junior’s Basketball standings with a 4-1 record.
Despite boasting an already talented roster, the Junior Altas managed to secure former Gilas Under-17 standout Kurt Nathan Velasquez in the off-season to strengthen their bid to avenge last season’s title loss to Colegio de San Juan de Letrán.
Through five games with Perpetual, Velasquez has averaged 2.2 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 rebounds, embracing a role-player position alongside Lebron Jhames Daep, Jan Roluna, and Icee Callangan.
In an exclusive interview with Tiebreaker Times, the 5-foot-11 guard credited Perpetual’s intense basketball program for his improvement while highlighting the team’s strong chemistry.
“Ano po, for me lang po yung samahan lang po namin dito. Lalo na yung program po, sa basketball program po. Mas lalo pong ano dito, mas diin po, mas intense din po,” Velasquez shared.
“So, parang nakikita ko talaga na mas nag improve po ako dito sa Perpetual.”
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
Last season, the Ormoc City native played for University of Santo Tomas, which reached the Final Four before bowing out to eventual champion Adamson University.
Velasquez posted averages of 5.53 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.53 assists across 14 games for the Tiger Cubs.
Although he chose not to reveal the reason for his departure from España, the 18-year-old expressed pride in his former team’s success after UST reached the UAAP Season 87 Boys’ Basketball Finals last week.
“Super proud lang po talaga ako sa kanila. Deserve po talaga nila na mag Finals po sila sa UST,” said Velasquez.
“Sana makuha po nila yung championship.”
Back with Perpetual, Velasquez and the Junior Altas saw their hopes for an outright Finals berth fade following a narrow 80-83 loss to San Beda University on March 2 at the EAC Sports and Cultural Center in Paco, Manila.
However, Perpetual quickly bounced back with wins over Arellano University, 92-80, and Lyceum of the Philippines, 71-39, dominating the latter by 32 points.
“Noong natalo kami against Beda po, parang yung aura namin na down po. So parang nag-work lang po talaga kami, tapos galing po kami sa one week break,” Velasquez remarked.
“So that’s why ngayon po nagbunga na yung effort namin and mas lalong gagalingan pa po namin sa next few games po.”
