After 15 months, Fran Yu and Rhenz Abando will finally get to share a court.
But they won’t be wearing Letran’s red and blue just yet nor even be teammates.
At 2:30PM on Tuesday, they will face off against each other as Yu’s Pasig-Sta. Lucia and Abando’s San Juan-GFG AICC in the knockout quarterfinals of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational.
And Letran’s head of the knights’ table is excited.
“Siyempre nakakatuwa at nakaka-excite kasi yung future teammate ko, makakalaban ko muna siya. Kasi nga wala pa kaming practice sa Letran,” said Yu, as Letran is set to enter their training bubble on January 2.
He added, “Dito sa opportunity na ‘to, makikita namin kung ano yung mga nangyari sa amin the past two years na walang basketball.
“Tapos, yung chemistry na rin namin magkakaroon kahit papano despite na magkalaban kami.”
The 23-year-old native of Tondo has been spectacular for Pasig-Sta. Lucia. He has averaged 11.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds to steer the Realtors to a 5-0 sweep of Pool A.
On the other hand, the 23-year-old Abando – a proud son of La Union – is norming 8.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per contest. He has helped the Knights of San Juan take the second seed in Pool C.
Yu, though, has made sure to keep Abando ready for their title defense come the NCAA Season 97 tournament. He has been talking to him ever since the Filbasket Subic Championships.
“Maging ready lang kami kasi papasok na kami sa bubble din. Sinabi ko rin na ‘wag silang mahiya sa teammates namin at sa management,” said the NCAA Season 95 Finals MVP.
But come Wednesday, Yu is bracing for war.
After all, he and Abando both have the same aspirations which is to win the MPBL.
“Siyempre bakbakan yun kasi pareho kaming gustong manalo at gustong mag-champion.”
