The National Collegiate Athletic Association of the Philippines (NCAA) is celebrating a historic 100th season, and some players are already making a name for themselves.
In the season’s main event, three rookies stood out for their teams, shocking everyone, including coaches who had scouted players in the Philippines to play for their team.
One rookie has faced multiple dilemmas in his life, especially since he came from a province away from the country’s capital. Another one has already made a name in the juniors division but is now repaying the trust his school gave to him when he was just a nobody.
Lastly, one rookie stood up to help his team win games, especially when their ace player was ruled out of the season due to a spine injury.
Get to know more about these players who shocked both their fans and coaches in the NCAA.
Mapua Cardinals’ Chris Hubilla
A then-unknown player from the Bicol Region, south of the Philippines’ capital, Chris Hubilla of the Mapua University Cardinals, wasn’t scouted by many collegiate coaches when he was still in high school. All he wanted to do was to have the basic needs of life in the province.
Thanks to basketball coach Cezar Babasa, the coach of Arandia College, he convinced Chris to try his luck in the country’s capital city, where he met former San Beda Red Cubs coach Manu Iñigo in a tune-up match.
Unfortunately, the public didn’t see much of Chris’s potential in high school when Coach Manu parted teams with the Red Cups in late 2022. With this news, Chris faced a dilemma – to leave the school and follow his coach, go back to Bicol to be with his family, or stay in San Beda.
As destiny would have it, Chris chose to stay as part of the San Beda Red Cubs, the school that took a chance on him. During the NCAA Season 98, Chris introduced himself to the public when he helped his team reach the Final Four, emerging as the San Beda Red Cubs’ top scorer, averaging 20.86 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.29 assists. Because of these statistics, Chris made it to the Mythical Five even if his team was defeated twice in the semifinals by third-seeded La Salle Greenhills Greenies.
Instead of directly taking his talents in seniors basketball, Chris took a gap year when he initially committed to the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons. He was training with the UAAP team before deciding to make a U-turn and join the Colegio de San Juan De Letran in the NCAA.
However, as fate would have it, Chris finally decided to represent the Mapua University Cardinals just in time for NCAA Season 100, thanks to deputy coach and high school basketball team head coach Yong Garcia, who had already tried to recruit him years ago.
Now playing for the Mapua University Cardinals, Chris said he made the right decision and is now at home with the Intramuros-based squad. Before the end of the first round of eliminations, Chris was averaging 12.25 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.88 assists, and 0.63 steals per game, supplying crucial support to reigning Rookie of the Year-Most Valuable Player Clint Escamis and veteran Cyrus Cuenco.
At the end of the first round of eliminations, the Mapua Cardinals, last year’s runners-up, finished at a 6-3 win-loss record.
Perpetual Atlas’s Mark Gojo Cruz
Now playing for the senior’s division, University of Perpetual Help Atlas Mark Gojo Cruz didn’t have any rookie jitters as he introduced himself in style. In Perpetual’s first game against the Jose Rizal University Bombers, Mark had an all-around game, delivering 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
With the game tied at 41-all at the halftime break, Mark and teammate Shawn Orgo led their team together to have a 7-0 run in the first few minutes of the third quarter for a 48-41 lead. In the last quarter, Mark didn’t stop delivering points for his team when he converted back-to-back baskets that sent his team to a 75-59 advantage in the closing minutes of the match.
Before playing in the NCAA seniors division, Mark’s name was already known to the community when he led the juniors team in a one-and-done season. The Perpetual Junior Atlas reached the finals behind Mark’s back but, unfortunately, were defeated in the finals by the Letran Squires. Fortunately for him, his skills didn’t go unnoticed as he was awarded the highly-coveted Rookie of the Year award and was included in the Mythical Five team.
However, unknown to many, Mark wasn’t scouted and invited by Perpetual’s basketball coaches. He only tried out for the Perpetual basketball teams for experience, having none before donning the school colors. Now, Mark is repaying the trust the school has given him before.
After ten games in the senior’s division, Mark averages 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals for the team, even if they have a 4-5 win-loss card at the end of the first round of eliminations. Despite having a hard time, Mark’s future looks great with the Perpetual Atlas, and his coach, Olsen Racela, even agrees.
Lyceum’s Jonathan Daileg
Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates rookie Jonathan Daileg successfully introduced himself to the league during his crucial nine points in their game against the Mapua University Cardinals in the first round of eliminations.
In the fourth quarter of the game, Jonathan and his teammates erupted for 31 points while limiting their opponents to just 15 points. Jonathan made nine points in that quarter alone as he stepped up to cover for teammate JM Bravo, who was ruled out of the season due to a spine injury.
Although that was the only game memorable for Jonathan so far, it earned the praise of the team’s head coach Gilbert Malabanan, saying that his rookie’s confidence is “already high” and he already “embraced” his role in the team.
Now that Jonathan’s name is already known to the community, it can now proudly share that he wasn’t a top recruit in high school. He was a product of an online tryout during the pandemic, and, with the help of their local councilor, he arrived in Manila to play for the Lyceum of the Philippines University, the same school as his idol, CJ Perez.
In the first round of eliminations, the Lyceum Pirates sat in fifth place with a 4-5 win-loss record.
These three rookies – Mapua Cardinals Chris Hubilla, University of Perpetual Help DELTA Atlas Mark Gojo Cruz, and Lyceum of the Philippines University Jonathan Dailege – are making sure that their future are bright, especially when their time comes to lead the team.
