Questions surrounded UP Fighting Maroon Juan Gomez de Liano and CSB Blazer Justin Gutang when they were tapped to be part of Mighty Sports Philippines.
As college students, would their eligibility be affected once they step on the Dubai desert for the International Basketball Tournament?
But according to Mighty Sports head coach Charles Tiu, the team made sure to request for clearance from the UAAP and the NCAA respectively before signing the two.
“Coach Bo [Perasol – UP head coach] helped us with that. Safe to say, he’ll still be playing for UP after this,” said the youthful head coach.
“Same with Justin,” he added.
In his sophomore year, the 6-foot-1 Gomez de Liano averaged 17.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game for UAAP silver medalist UP.
Gutang, on the other hand, is a 6-foot-3 swingman. During his rookie year, he ended up with norms of 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per contest to lead Saint Benilde to the brink of a Final Four finish.
They will join Mono Vampire Jason Brickman in the backcourt of the Philippine-based club team.