WITH A year playing in the NCAA already tucked under his belt, bigger things are expected out of wily Cebuano guard Darrell Shane Menina in his sophomore season for the Mapua Cardinals.
With the new season just 10 days away, Menina and the rest of the Cardinals are hard at work in the hopes of improving on last season’s performance where they got ousted from the Final Four by the San Beda Red Lions. Cebu Daily News was able to talk to the Talisay City-native in an exclusive interview right after their practice session.
After getting recruited from the University of Cebu and averaging 8.8 points last season — good for third on the team — Menina said that he has become a much better player during the off season.
“I think I am much better this season because I’ve already gained confidence from my rookie season. Last year, I was new to all this and I really had to work extra hard to get used to the style of play and become more consistent,” said the crafty 5-foot-8 guard.
Menina added that he focused more on improving both his speed and defense to better help the team keep up with the NCAA’s bevy of ace guards.
“I’ll be the first to tell you that I don’t play good defense nor am I the fastest guard. So I really had to work double-time on those things to help my team,” Menina added.