Two rookies have been a head above the rest among their batch so far in the UAAP Season 81 Men’s Basketball Tournament. There’s CJ Cansino of the UST Growling Tigers and there’s Dave Ildefonso of the NU Bulldogs.
Cansino, a 6-foot-2 do-it-all guard coming out of UST High, is posting norms of 14.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. And his performances has turned heads including his rival.
“As a player, kailangan mo makita yung competition mo. Minsan tinitingnan ko rin yung stats. Yung stats ni CJ, kailangan ko lampasan. Siyempre si CJ magaling na player,” disclosed Ildefonso.
“Di ko alam kung paano siya nakakuha ng seventeen points at seventeen rebounds, kahit sa juniors pa lang, nakaka-twenty-five points and fifteen rebounds siya. Nagugulat na lang ako.“
For his part, Ildefonso is having a stellar campaign as well so far with averages 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
But unlike Ildefonso, Cansino is not keeping tabs on anyone other than the Growling Tigers’ record.
“Una, masaya dahil nandun ako sa Rookie of the Year race, pero hindi talaga yung goal ko,” he disclosed.
“Ang goal ko, yung makapasok kami ng Final Four.”
The paths of the Growling Tigers and the Bulldogs have been diverging so far in the on-going tourney.
UST is riding high with a two-game winning streak while NU has dropped five straight games heading into their final outing of the round on Saturday.
With this predicament, Ildefonso’s goal of winning the top freshman plum is the least of his worries.
“He’s really a great player and I think my goal right now is to help the team and hopefully Final Four.
“Bonus na lang yung ROY. Hopefully I can get it, but if not, CJ deserves it,” the second generation cager expressed.
