MANILA – Crispin John “CJ” Cansino is hoping to be selected by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in the PBA Season 49 Rookie Draft on Sunday at the Glorietta Mall in Makati City.
Cansino, currently playing for the Iloilo United Royals in the MPBL, said wearing the red and white jersey of Barangay Ginebra would be a dream come true for him as a professional player.
“Dream team ko Ginebra. Ginebra talaga ako eh,” the former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers and the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons forward said.
“Growing up, talagang…hindi pa ata ako nagba-basketball, ‘yun na ‘yung pinapanood ng family ko eh, kumbaga dugong Ginebra,” Cansino added in an interview during the PBA Draft Combine on Wednesday.
Cansino also shared that the famous “Never Say Die” spirit of the Gin Kings was rubbed off to him; he survived various challenges during his stints with the Growling Tigers and the Fighting Maroons.
The one-time UAAP champion suffered two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries during his college years with the Growling Tigers and the Fighting Maroons, but managed to fight through it all.
“‘Yung mga napagdaanan ko, hindi rin biro eh,” Cansino said. “Lahat ‘yun, nagbibigay sa akin ng motivation para araw-araw ako magtrabaho.”
Cansino is currently on a tear for the United Royals; he registered a back-to-back 30-point game for the Japs Cuan-mentored squad.
Aside from Cansino, other United Royals players who applied for the PBA Draft are Negrense Mark Nonoy, Ilonggo Franz Diaz, Conrad Catapusan, Ry dela Rosa, and Jason Credo./PN
