Former UV highschool player hitting stride in D-League

WAMAR
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LEAPS of faith don’t always guarantee that you’ll end up on your feet. Aware of this uncertainty, Cebuano diminutive guard Orlan Wamar made the trek to Manila in 2015 to find a new home after a colorful high school career at the University of the Visayas (UV).

Three years later, safe to say that Wamar’s decision has paid off as he now has carved a niche as one of the country’s fast-rising guards, evidenced by his 16-point outburst in Centro Escolar University’s 70–57 win over Marinerong Pilipino in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup on Tuesday.

Wamar came off the bench and dropped in five three-pointers in that game, two coming in the fourth to help the Scorpions score their fourth straight victory.

In an exclusive interview, Wamar recalled that coming to Manila was just something he knew he had to do.

“I just really wanted to come to Manila and try my luck here. I had nothing to lose since no schools were interested in me back in Cebu,” shared Wamar, who ran with JC Escalona, Jancork Cabahug, current UP Fighting Maroon Jun Manzo, and NU Bulldog Joshua Flores during his high school career.

Wamar said that he and his father went to several schools — Adamson and Emilio Aguinaldo College — before finally finding a fit with CEU.

Since then, his career took an upward turn, as he won the Finals MVP award in the UCBL late last year.

Wamar credited his success to the workload that is being asked of them.

“There’s a lot of leagues here so we get to play a lot of games. That’s a huge factor in our improvement,” he said.

Wamar also said that his coach, Yong Garcia, has had a lot to do with his game’s growth.

“Coach (Yong) gives me a lot of confidence. Even during my very first year, he never hesitated to give me the green light to shoot because he knows how hard I work during practice and even afterwards,” he added.

Even with the success that he has attained, Wamar said that he would remain grounded with the virtues that have gotten him to where he is now.

“I’ll continue to work hard and most importantly, have faith in the plans of the Lord.”