Current Letran Knights coach Jeff Napa is enshrined in the archives of his alma mater National University.
Since then, not a single Bulldog has even come close to breaking the former shooting guard’s record in the UAAP – until rookie cager John Lloyd Clemente came into the picture.
In what was their 10th loss of the season, this time to the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, Clemente sank 38 points, 21 of which came in the third period, to come within inches of overcoming Napa’s record at NU.
“Yung laro ko lang today, kasi simula pa ng last game, mainit na ako. Sabi ni coach Jamike (Jarin) na hanapin lang ako from the start.
“Kaya yung mga teammates ko… Unang-una nagpa-thank you ako sa mga teammates ko, lalo na kay Dave (Ildefonso) kanina kasi siya yung humanap sa akin eh,” said the former Bullpup.
To sink 38 points, the 20-year-old converted 5-out-of-14 threes, 9-out-of-11 two-point attempts, and he went perfect from the charity stripe with five freebies. Not bad for a renowned slasher in his younger days.
While it was a silver lining to the Bulldogs’ horrible season, the first-year student-athlete remained humble despite his season-high explosion.
“Kung sino lang ang mainit (na kamay) sa amin, sa kanya ibibigay (ang bola).
“Actually start ng game pa lang, naramdaman ko na mainit na ako eh, tapos simula ng second half parang hindi na ako nagmimintis. Nagulat na lang ako sa mga tira ko, pumapasok eh,” he added.
In a sense, there is something poetic about Clemente coming close to breaking Napa’s record. In fact, the past and present of NU have built a connection between both of them.
He narrated, “Si coach Jeff, parang tatay ko na rin yan. Siya talaga yung mentor ko. Siya nagturo sa akin pa’no mag-shoot. Pagdating ko sa NU, pangit talaga ng shooting form ko eh. Loob lang talaga laro ko dati.
“Nung bago palang ako sa NU, nakita ko, ang ganda ng pitik niya eh. Ta’s tinanong ko, player ba ‘to dati? Sabi ng mga tao na may record nga raw siya,” he admitted.
“Tapos tinuruan na niya ako nun. Si coach Jeff naman, alam kong gusto rin ako maging successful in the future.”
And from that moment, Clemente knew what he wanted to do to get one over one of his current coaches, in what has become a friendly rivalry between the pair.
“Last game kasi, first half, naka-limang three points na ako diba? Kaya sabi ko kay coach Jeff na ibe-break ko yung record mo, pero wala eh, hindi ko na-break,” lamented the two-time UAAP Juniors Basketball team member. “Tapos ngayon hindi ko rin na-break.
“Yun talaga target ko sana pero hindi ko magawa eh.”
Clemente may have not succeeded so far, but he still has time to write his name into NU and UAAP history.
“Four years pa. Kaya pa yan.”
