With several key cogs departing the team including ace forward Aljon Mariano, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers have shored up their frontcourt after getting the commitment of one of Cebu’s top prospects, lefty big man Zachy Huang.
Huang, a 6-foot-2 forward from the reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) juniors champions Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, gave his commitment to head coach Bong dela Cruz on Tuesday night, citing that it was an honor to play for a UAAP squad with such storied tradition.
“I feel so blessed and honored that they chose to recruit me,” said Huang over dinner, where he was joined by his mother, Debbie. “It has always been a dream of mine ever since I started playing basketball to play in the UAAP.”
Huang is a key piece of the Magis Eagles’ frontcourt attack, where he is joined by Cesafi juniors MVP Janjan Jaboneta and rookie standout Joshua Sinclair.
He played a crucial role in Ateneo de Cebu’s title win over the University of the Visayas (UV) in the Cesafi finals. They will have a go at another title this Sunday when they battle the Baby Lancers once again for the right to represent Cebu in the National Basketball Training Center National Finals.
“I know that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, especially with my dribbling and shooting skills. But I’m more than willing to go through all those. I don’t expect the transition to the college level to be easy but I’m excited,” added
Huang, who dela Cruz figures to play the small forward position at the Tigers’ camp after taking notice of the youngster’s talent and skills at the 2014 Palarong Pambansa basketball tournament while playing for Central Visayas.
“Dun talaga namin napansin si Zachy (Huang). Aside sa skills, yung puso ng bata ang nakita namin, which is perfect for the Tomasian brand of basketball. Yung larong palaban talaga,” said dela Cruz, who is trying to turn the Growling Tigers’ fortunes around after suffering through a 5-9 (win-loss) campaign last year.
However, he will have to do it without the aforementioned Mariano and another big man, Paolo Pe, both of whom have exhausted their playing years. But more than the manpower, dela Cruz pinpointed to their cohesion or lack thereof as the main culprit to their lackluster stint during the 77th UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
