La Salle’s Cameroonian forward Ben Mbala returned to Cebu on Thursday afternoon to face off against his former teammates on the Southwestern University Cobras for the first time since bolting for the Archers’ camp in 2012.
And though he tried his hardest to keep up a straight face in saying it was just another game, the 6-foot-7 forward bared to Cebu Daily News in an exclusive interview that his coming back to the place where his basketball career started its upward turn was something special.
“Cebu is my home. I started there from nothing and I want to say thank you to all the Cebuano people for the love. Without their support I would not be where I am now,” said Mbala after their thrilling 59-54 victory over the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) champions SWU Cobras.
Mbala managed to score just eight points but six of them came in the final period where his strong inside play kept the Cobras at bay.
He credited his former coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba for formulating a sound defensive scheme that wedged a phalanx of defenders between him and the rim.
“It was a game plenty of emotions. My coach knew my style of game and got his team prepared for it. But still I enjoyed the game and its intensity,” added Mbala who steered the Cobras to its first crown in the Cesafi basketball tournament in 2012 with a pulsating five-game finals win over the University of the Visayas Green Lancers.
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