Shane Menina (left) and Miguel Gastador (right). | CDN file photos
Cebu City, Philippines—After being picked by the same team in the 2020 PBA D-League Draft on Monday, January 20, 2020, Cebu’s Shane Menina and Miguel Gastador can’t wait to play side by side and relive their high school years.
Menina, the former University of Cebu (UC) Webmaster, was picked second in the sixth round by Marinerong Pilipino while Gastador, formerly of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), was also selected by the Skippers at second in the eighth round.
Read: Menina, Gastador selected by Marinerong Pilipino in PBA D-League Draft
And both couldn’t contain their excitement over the prospect of playing together in one team again.
“Feeling nako magka best duo gyud mi ni Shane kay dugay napod na namo nga pangandoy magka uban mi balik,” the 23-year-old Gastador told Cebu Daily News Digital via Facebook Messenger.
(I feel we will be a great pair with Shane because it was always our wish to play together.)
Miguel Gastador competes in the Cesafi slam dunk competition in November 2019. | CDN file photo
Both Cebuano cagers, who will be playing under coach Yong Garcia in Marinerong Pilipino, used to play for the UC Baby Webmasters in their high school days.
“Lipay ko kay reunited ming Miguel. High school pa mi last nag kauban and soon mag kauban na gyud mi,” said Menina, the 22-year-old playmaker from Talisay City, Cebu.
(I’m happy to be reunited with Miguel. We last played together in high school and soon we will be teammates again.)
And Menina isn’t just pumped up with the chance of playing with Gastador, he is also eager to show off his skills on a bigger stage.
“Dako na opportunity ni nako kay na pick ko. Blessed ko kay God nga ge hatag ni niya nako. Dili na nko sayangan,” he said.
(This is a huge opportunity to be picked. This is a huge blessing from God. I am not going to waste this opportunity.)
Shane Menina of UC soars for a layup against arch rival University of the Visayas in this 2019 photo.
Gastador also feels he will be able to fit with the team’s system should he be called for duty.
“I expect nga dali rako ka adapt sa system and sa environment ‘coz ang head coach sa Marinero kay na head coach pod nako sa CEU (Centro Escolar University) nga si coach Yong Garcia,” Gastador revealed.
(I expect that I will be able to adapt well with the system and environment because the coach of Marinero, coach Yong Garcia, was also my coach in CEU.)
Gastador was under the watchful eyes of Garcia with CEU for two years before returning to the Cesafi with USJ-R where he made a name for himself with his slam dunking prowess, earning him the nickname “Cebuano Rocket.”
Gastador won the Cesafi Slam Dunk King title twice, in 2017 and 2019. /RCG