When Francis Lopez first entered the consciousness of Filipino basketball fans, he was described as someone who is super athletic and can provide highlight plays.
When Lopez committed to play for the University of the Philippines, he was touted as a highly talented guy who can deliver showtime slamma jammas.
But he is proving that he is more than just dunks during the Fighting Maroons’ first three games in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Against National University, the 6-foot-6 winger had his best game in his young collegiate career, posting 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block.
More impressively, Lopez was a plus-34 in his 24 minutes and eight seconds on the floor in UP’s 78-60 win against the Bulldogs on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Before we would think na he’s an athletic guy, he’s talented but ever since na nagkasama kami nakita ko yung value niya as a team player,” said Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde on his prized recruit.
“Seeing the floor, getting everybody involved at the same time both ends offense and defense nandiyan talaga. Ang laki ng impact niya sa amin.”
However, Lopez wasn’t even happy with his all-around performance. He was happy because his team won and remained undefeated after three games.
The Ateneo High School product even deflected the credit to his teammates despite his eye-popping stats, especially his plus-minus rating.
“Me, honestly, I don’t mind the stats. What matters is the team. I wanna give big credit to the team and hopefully we can continue that,” said Lopez.
The Fighting Maroons will go for four in a row on Wednesday against still-winless Far Eastern University.
