A lot of things can happen in a short amount of time
Last December 3, 2017, Ricci Rivero, donning the green and white of the De La Salle University Green Archers, was gathered around his teammates. All of them were weeping together as a season full of hope ended with a silver finish in the UAAP Season 80 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Fast forward to April of 2017, the 19-year-old is sporting a new color — Gilas’ blue and white.
During the summer, he left La Salle. Still not committing to a new school, he is exhausting all of his efforts on the young Gilas cadets’ upcoming campaigns, including the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup presented by Chooks-to-Go.
The young Cadets’ campaign, however, started off on the wrong foot, as they fell to the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles last Saturday, 75-69.
And it’s part of the growing pains that Rivero and his teammates are experiencing, as they are still trying to form familiarity with one another.
“So far yun nga sabi ni Coach [Josh Reyes], na lahat daw ng Gilas nag-start sa ganito sa learning process talaga — mag-learn through experience na magkakasama kami,” shared the 6-foot-1 swingman, who finished the game with 17 points but committed seven turnovers. “Mahirap siyempre kasi yung teams, yung mga college teams, yung mga players, allowed lang maximum ng three practices per week siyempre for us mahirap na mag-jell kami agad ng parang yung drastic na ‘pag team agad. Siyempre mahirap kasi mag-a-adjust pa kami sa isa’t isa kasi yun nga, best of the best ng college teams, so iba yung rules ng college teams nila dun sa RP.
“So yun lang, kailangan namin malaman lang if paano yung mag-react ang each and everyone of us sa team.”
It’s the same thing he went through with La Salle.
After a slow start during his rookie campaign, he dazzled in his second year, resulting in him winning the UAAP Season 80 Men’s Basketball Most Improved Player plum.
In their second outing though, he will face a team that is quite familiar with him. On Friday, he and the Cadets will take on the Green Archers. And he is looking forward to seeing the new-look Green Archers first-hand.
“Siguro, as of now wala pa naman pero I’m looking forward to it na rin kasi La Salle.
“Siyempre lahat gusto makalaban La Salle tapos yun yung na-feel ko so lahat ng kalaban namin dati. Parang gigil kapag La Salle ang kalaban,” expressed Rivero, who spent two years in DLSU. “Gusto nila lahat, yung best nila. Siyempre, ngayon yun din yung gagawin ko kasi La Salle yung kalaban eh, diba.
“Who doesn’t wanna play against La Salle? So yun I’m gonna prepare for it and then sana maging okay naman pero wala namang any negative thing about playing against them.”
Rivero is ready to face the music.
