Ever since he was in Grade Two, Cedric de Joya was always at the front of the line. But being the shortest player in every basketball team he has played in did not hinder him from playing the sport that he loves.
So when Team Batangas head coach Eric Gonzales called for a tryout for his new D-League team last November, De Joya, fresh off his stint with University of Batangas, did not let the opportunity to play in Manila pass him by.
“Nung nagpa-try out yung Batangas, buti nakuha ako,” the native of Calaca, Batangas reflected.
“First time ko nga makalaro dito sa Manila e.”
At first, he was intimidated with the size of the players in the D-League.
“Nakaka-intimidate nung una kasi malalaki yung kalaban mo e. Kaso kalaban mo yung sarili mo pagkinabahan ka e, walang mangyayari sa ‘yo nun,” De Joya said.
“Kailangan ko lang kumayod ng kumayod.”
Slowly, he was able to earn Gonzales’ trust during the Aspirants Cup. And now in his second conference, De Joya has become the sparkplug that has helped the Batangueños to a 2-0 slate.
That second win could not have been possible without De Joya.
With Batangas tied with Wangs 79-all and just 4.9 ticks left Tuesday afternoon, De Joya went coast-to-coast in the waning seconds and banked in a floater at the buzzer to keep Batangas at the top of the heap.
For Gonzales, that play was a testament to the pint-sized guard’s maturity.
“Medyo naiintindihan niya na ngayon yung basketball.
“Yung nakakatuwa sa kanya kasi common sense na ‘yun. Sabi ko, ‘wala na tayong timeout at kahit anong mangyari wala tayong three points. Ayun ginawa niya kung anong dapat gawin,” Gonzales gushed.
For De Joya though, all he was thinking of was how he could seize that opportunity and make that moment his.
“Sabi ko na lang sa sarili ko, akin na ‘to at bahala na si God. Shoomoot naman,” added De Joya, who finished the game with 14 points, three assists, and two rebounds.
And he is doing all of this just so he could prove that even at 5-foot-5, he can make it to the Big League.
“Siyempre gusto ko rin mapakita sa lahat na kahit maliit ako, kaya ko.
“Gusto ko rin makapaglaro sa PBA one day pero masaya na ako na nakalaro na ako sa D-League,” the only pick in the 13th round of the 2016 PBA D-League draft shared.
“Hindi pa ako kontento dito pero masaya na ko.”
