Rhenz Abando had himself a spectacular debut for Colegio de San Juan de Letran during opening day of the NCAA Season 97 Seniors’ Basketball Tournament at La Salle Green Hills’ St. Benilde Gym on Saturday.
Despite the humid atmosphere inside the venue and the unpredictability of the Saint Benilde lineup, Abando still had himself a game. He tallied 19 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and three assists.
But the do-it-all 6-foot-2 swingman has yet fully acclimate himself in Bonnie Tan’s system. Yes, he posted those numbers “naturally.”
“Alam niyo, si Rhenz we just met him last February. So ano pa, nag-aadjust pa siya,” said the champion mentor, who is also the team manager of PBA team Northport.
Abando spent the majority of 2021 with Go for Gold-San Juan in the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League
Prior to that, the 23-year-old native of La Union had to go through a case of COVID-19 and a subdural hematoma which is a buildup of blood on the surface of the brain.
But it seems now that he has fully recovered from it.
It’s not just Abando though who has yet to get a full grasp of the Knights’ system. Fellow University of Santo Tomas product Brent Paraiso is also being broken in by Tan.
Paraiso only had four points on 2-of-7 shooting but still had five rebounds.
“Of course, we want to let Rhenz play to his full potential but we’re not rushing him, including Brent Paraiso,” continued Tan.
“Kasi understandable naman na we’re just parang less than two months pa lang na magkakasama.”
Still, the defending NCAA champions still had a triumphant start to its title defense, escaping the home team, 67-63.
And it was a small victory for Tan as they struggled during their buildup to the tournament.
“We’re adjusting sa mga calls ng referees,” the fourth-year Knights head coach said. “Before the game nga, sabi namin a lot of game adjustments niyan ay during the course of the game.
“The boys followed yung gameplan na maging mapag-pasensiya at mag-adjust tayo sa mga tawag ng referees.”
The Knights ended with 24 fouls, most during the first half as they saw themselves hounded by the early penalty. That led to that huge 11-pont lead of the Blazers with 5:55 left in the second period.
Fortunately for the seasoned NCAA mentor, his veterans pulled through, slowly ate up that deficit, before Abando made it count for a win.
Moving forward, Tan knows that it will only get tougher.
“Very important itong game na ito,” he said. “Sa huddle, [sinasabi namin na] every game dito chanpionship.
“We treat every game as a championship game.”
So, there goes one championship down for Letran, and at least ten more to go.
