Far Eastern University Tamaraws’ Ron Dennison has been called plenty of names since he started his UAAP career — dirty player, bad boy, tirador. The list goes on.
Yes, plenty of people hate his guts.
Yes, he was involved in several extra-curricular activities before throwing fists.
Amidst all the shade thrown at him, he is still one of the most reliable defenders in college basketball today.
But his stellar five-year UAAP career has come to an end. As the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles halted FEU’s campaign to the finals, he did not hide his emotions when the final buzzer rang. He sang the alma mater song for the last time as a Tamaraw in tears.
For his last post-game press conference, Dennison took the opportunity to tip his hat off to all the people who helped him in his spectacular five-year run in FEU.
“Gusto ko lang mag-thank you kay coach Olsen [Racela] kasi binigyan niya ko ng ganitong season,” said an emotional Dennison. “Yung buong team nakarating sa Final Four. Kahit yung team namin up and down, salamat sa tiwala lalo na sakin as a senior. Thankful din ako kay God na binigyan niya ako ng magandang season this year. Sobra. Di ko inexpect na ganito lalaruin ko this year.”
Dennison, who hails from Cebu, is the eighth child among nine siblings. The 23-year-old shared that growing up, basketball has always been their siblings’ thing. His older brothers Miller, Ritchum, and Rolf are whom he considers as his first coaches.
“Sa simula palang tine-training na ako ng mga kuya ko sa depensa. Sila ang nagturo sa akin kung paano basahin ang galaw ng kalaban,” he recalled.
So picture this: a young Dennison, way before he even donned a FEU jersey, playing ball in a local court in one of the barangays in Cebu. The boy is slugging it out against his much older, taller, and bigger brothers. He is the youngest. He is the smallest. He doesn’t have much of a hold on the ball because his brothers are taking the shots.
What is there left to do? Defend.
Maybe that explains why he plays like what he does now. He was raised in a basketball environment where he had no choice but to learn to outsmart and outwit his opponents. And this is what he proudly brought to the FEU basketball program.
“Yung pagiging physical player ko, yun ang nagbibigay kung sino ako. Yun yung dinadala ko sa sarili ko kasi kung wala sa depensa ko, wala rin ako sa FEU kasi yun yung alas ko,” shared the 6-foot guard, who was part of the FEU team that won gold in UAAP Season 78.
But that is not his only “alas”.
This UAAP Season 80, he showed that he has evolved into a two-way threat for the Tamaraws. From bothering his man on the other end, he can seamlessly transition to offense and easily make buckets.
“Sa ipinakita ko this season, ibang Ron Dennison yung lumabas this year kasi offense at defense na ako.
“Hindi lang sa depensa, gumagawa na rin ako sa opensa. Pero always nandyan ang defense ko, hindi ‘yan puwede mawala,” Dennison speaking as if referring to his first love.
That first love is the reason he was called a bad boy. It may not be the ideal reputation, but if that is what makes him a great baller, Dennison is all for embracing it.
“Hard court bad boy pero ginagawa ko lang ang trabaho ko sa loob ng court” he affirmed.
“Kaya kung bad boy sa hard court tawag nila sa akin okay lang.”
Dennison’s game is a challenge for all the UAAP teams and as he exits college basketball, it’s now the pro teams’ turn to deal with this headache.
Because you can’t spell Ron Dennison without good D.
