Rebounding. 3-point shooting. Aggressive defense. Fade away shots.
Basketball lingos that would likely be the fitting definitions of these two astounding rookies from the roster of our very own Letran Knights. They might be fresh faces to you, but surely they are not new in terms of playing on court. Both of them are go-to guys in terms of defensive and offensive skills. So let’s cut the long wait and meet the additional manpower of the ‘Winningest’ Team on NCAA.
“He, who controls the rebound, controls the game.”
That’s what he believes in, being one of Letran’s big men this season. With his flummox height standing 6 ft 3” and size good enough to statute the inner zone of the field, he is a forward. Jersey no. 15 and fresh from the fine province of Bataan, Jamil Gabawan.
As he walked in the court while I was interviewing the other players, I saw him as someone jolly and ‘makulit’, distracting his teammates while they were being interviewed. But who would think that this big guy hides a certain personality that would contradict my first impression to him?
A player doing aggressive moves and burly defense skills out the court, Jamil Gabawan is a simple, ‘tahimik’ guy in real life. Being a home buddy, he prefers to stay at home when he’s on his hometown in Bataan and usually hangs about on their dormitory when he’s in Manila. He never really liked gimmicks and malling, but he’ll come, just give him a call.
Among the NCAA players today, he said that he prefers to have a showdown with San Beda’s big man Jake Pascual adding that he thinks Pascual “plays very physical and aggressive,” and that even though he’s a rookie, he can’t easily brought down.
Letran branded for being a defensive team, Gabawan counted himself as an additional bludgeon to Coach Louie Alas’ reserves, believing that taking control of the ball by rebounding it at any cost could easily hoist a team’s morale to win a game. But, he still sees himself lacking in the part of consistency because at some point he’s not “on the mood” to play well.
Inspired to play by his personal basketball idol Marc Pingris, still, Gabawan doesn’t forget his prime duty as as STUDENT ATHLETE, being a student comes first than being an athlete saying that “finishing my degree is very essential to be able to assure my future.” And he said that if he’s given a chance to choose any jersey number aside from his assigned figure #15, he would choose 3 or 28, prior to him and his girlfriend’s significant number.
After I’m done with the first interview, I called him in. He was sound-tripping and sitting on a corner. Seeing him that way, at first I really had the intuition of him being snobbish. Coming from the Squires roster last season, high school girls who were also inside the gym would stare at him and some even requested to pose for a photo opportunity with him. However, as we go on to the interview, my views on him suddenly changed as fast as how I recognized him. He was not snobbish, just plain timid.
And as we go further the interview, behind his shy smiles and awkward laughs, I found out that he’s already a family man at the age of 18. With this, he shoulders a bigger responsibility not just on being a Knight but on his own.
Mark Cruz acknowledged on his early rise as a triumphant Letran Squires, sets up the bar and continued his journey as a Letran Knights. Somehow, jumping from the high school basketball to the college hoops cost him a lot of adjustments in everything.
Also known for being the younger brother of then UP Fighting Maroons and currently a Barako Bulls Energy Boosters player Marvin “Marvelous” Cruz, Mark sees himself to establish his own name, putting himself away from the shadow of his older brother.
“I say too much pressure, but I see it as a challenge. I want to achieve more than what he did and to show my family that I can do more than that even though I have my own family.” He said. “There’s a lot of comparison, especially now that I have my own family and this fact made them think that I’m irresponsible unlike Kuya who’s on the peak of his career. So with this, I want to prove to them that this doesn’t stop me from soaring high.”
Cruz had been a famous face to the Letran fans because of his good looks and his odd 5 ft 7” height as a point guard, enthused by NBA Star Allen Iverson. And about his height, he said that he perceives it as an advantage to steal the ball and his agility is much astounding than of the taller players, although he said that he focuses on body-building since point guards today are tall and brawny.
What others may have not known is that Cruz was offered by three UAAP teams to play for them, namely University of Sto. Tomas (UST), University of the East (UE) and University of the Philippines (UP). “I really like to play for Letran. UP was just after me because I’m Marvin Cruz’ brother and they like to you know, continue his legacy. I don’t want to earn fame simply because I’m his brother. I want to establish my own name in basketball. Mark Cruz is different from Marvin Cruz.”
He also finds those offers tasteless on his mouth since he really wants to be under Coach Louie’s tutelage. “I feel comfortable in Letran since I came from the Squires and I am really looking forward into playing under Coach Louie because he’s a disciplinarian.”
Still, he seeks the support and guidance of his pro-athlete brother. Cruz said that he practices with his brother some shootings and defensive tactics when they have the time to be together.
Fans that he had instituted since his high schools days are quite several. Talking about them, Cruz mentioned that “I treat my fans like my friends. There’s no difference but I’m just shy to those that I do not know.” And like Gabawan, Mark doesn’t enjoy going out a lot and prefers to play computer games during his free time.
And for his jersey number #13? He never really had the choice but if given the chance, would choose his Squires jersey number #9 saying, “I just like the shape! (Laughs) Don’t get me wrong. Mukha kasing naka-fade away pag nagshoot yung shape ng ‘9’ and people sees me like that when I shoot.”
As I end my interview with these guys, I realized that they were those people that we put on pedestal but seem so relevant to each and every one of us. They are not so different, enjoying simple pleasures in life. Yet, as they wear their blue jerseys and play on court, they bring the pride and glory to the Letran Community. So watch out for this Fresh Duo: Jamil Gabawan and Mark Cruz.
Mark Cruz
Kevin Alas
No comments:
Post a Comment