ILOILO City – Three standouts from Hua Siong College of Iloilo Red Phoenix will be wearing the colors of the roaring University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Cubs.
Red Phoenix head coach Vincent Conlu said the transfer of six-foot-one Dave Bagatnan, six-foot-four Cedrick Manzano and six-footer Julian Mavrick Puerto to the Tiger Cubs was formalized on Tuesday.
Conlu sees his three players as great additions to the rebuilding Tiger Cubs squad of coach Jinino Manansala.
“They (Bagatnan, Manzano and Puerto) are born winners,” Conlu told Panay News.
“Ang advantage ng Hua Siong players is ini-inject ko sa mind nila na bawal matalo dito sa Iloilo City,” he added. “They are mentally tough and sanay na din sa pressure games dito sa city.”
UST men’s basketball team head coach Aldin Ayo, for his part, said that he expects the three Hua Siong recruits to play key roles for the Tiger Cubs which fell short of reaching the Final Four of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 82.
“They are talented players,” Ayo said. “It’s an honor for us to give opportunities to players who come from provinces. We’re going to take good care of them.”/PN
