It’s been a long road back to the UAAP for Mike Reyes.

After leading Ateneo High School to the top of the junior ranks in 1998, he went all over the country.

He coached Iloilo in the defunct MBA, became an assistant coach in the PBA, before eventually moving to Cebu.

In Cebu, he coached the University of San Carlos and Southwestern University, leading the latter to the CESAFI championship in 2019.

Before UAAP Season 88, Reyes returned to Manila to serve as both the head of basketball operations of Far Eastern University and the head coach of the Baby Tamaraws.

On Monday, his journey back to Manila culminated in a championship, steering FEU-Diliman back to the top after three years with an epic 106-102 overtime win over the NUNS Bullpups.

“It’s a very, very different feeling because 28 years back, medyo iba ang basketball eh. Di ba?” shared the younger brother of TNT head coach Chot Reyes.

“The evolution of basketball ngayon, iba na.”

(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team

That is why, when Reyes stepped in as Baby Tamaraws head coach, he made sure to first gather his assistant coaches, led by Muriel Garcia.

“From day one, pagpasok ko dito, sa first meeting with all the coaches, sinabi ko sa kanila, ‘Ang magiging success ng lahat nitong year na to ay dahil sa inyong lahat.’ I will lead this, pero kayong lahat ang pag-asa para makuha natin ang championship.”

FEU-Diliman ended the elimination round tied with Ateneo for second place.

The Baby Tamaraws then won the playoff for second before eliminating the Blue Eagles on their home floor.

FEU-D capped its campaign with three hard-fought games against NUNS, securing the school’s 10th championship in the division.

But more than the championship, Reyes is glad to have provided a platform for his other seniors.

Of course, the duo of Cabs Cabonilas and Marc Burgos is already given.

But it was the likes of Sam Hall, Yosef Rañeses, and John Santos who were able to showcase themselves to college coaches.

“Ang talagang pinakamasayang nangyari with this championship is we all know Cabs and Burgos, may kukuha sa kanila sa college, but sila Sam, Rañeses, and John Santos, nakita ni Coach Sean (Chambers) kung anong magagawa nila,” said Reyes.

“So, maybe, they will be given a shot in our college team.”

The post Mike Reyes finds fulfillment beyond title, shines spotlight on FEU-D seniors’ futures appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.

National Basketball League | Result

• UCU Lady Canons 80-46 Nabisunsa Girls

UCU Lady returned to winning ways after falling to the JT Lady Jaguars in their previous league game.

UCU Lady Canons secured a well-deserved 80-46 victory against Nabisunsa Girls in the National Basketball League encounter at Lugogo Indoor Arena on Wednesday.

Mariam Asacha’s 3-point jumpshot concluded the opening stanza as the Lady Canons opened the 20-point (28-08) commanding lead.

The second period started slowly until Mariam Asacha lit up the floor with another shot beyond the paint.

Melissa Kisakye responded with one from downtown as Nabisunsa Girls but it turned into a shooting party as Asacha dropped another long shot.

Martha Yikuru’s driving layup capped the second stanza as the Nabisunsa Girls trailed by 21 points going into the long break.

Coming from a long break, Christine Saima dropped two long shots as the Lady Canons extended their lead to 32 points (66-34).

In the final quarter, the Lady Canons contained the game, thus bagging a 34-point victory.

Doreen Nakibuuka (11 points), Mariam Asacha (11 points) and Christine Saima (10 points) led the Lady Canons’ scoring chart in double digits.

Melissa Kisakye (16 points) and Abigail Mpoza (12 points) scored for the Nabisunsa Girls in double digits.

The post NBL 26: UCU Lady Canons thump Nabisunsa to return to winning ways appeared first on Kawowo Sports.

Justin Patton turned in a solid PBA debut and helped San Miguel get back on track in the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup by keeping Macau winless through a dominant 110-94 victory, Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The former NBA pro finished with all-around numbers of 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 17 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block as he led the traditional contenders’ early surge to seize full control of the match.

He already had 18 points in the first half to show the way toward a 62-51 lead at the half, and the locals would buckle down to work come the third for the breakaway toward improving to .500 anew in the standings with a 2-2 record.

The Black Knights, on the other hand, fell to their fifth loss in as many outings, thus remaining the only winless team in this midseason joust.

(C) PBA Images

“Makikita niyo naman kanina, he really wanted to play, and I gave him a lot of time because hindi pa adjusted to the Philippine brand of basketball. He’s trying to figure it out,” offered head coach Leo Austria on the 7-foot-1 Patton.

“Yesterday, we had a long practice, for him to know what kind of plays we’re going to run. The good thing with him, lahat ng sinasabi namin, he was able to pick it up right away,” added the four-time Coach of the Year.

CJ Perez top-scored for SMB with 26 points, alongside three rebounds and five assists. June Mar Fajardo nearly tallied a triple-double, as he finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists, and added two steals as well.

Marcio Lassiter made 12 points, spiked by two triples, while Don Trollano added 10 markers, five rebounds, and four assists, in the victory that brought them back on track after getting blown out by Bol Bol and TNT last Saturday.

The bounce-back, furthermore, served as a warm welcome to Jericho Cruz, who’s back in action after being out for nearly a month due to back spasms.

“Siyempre, ‘pag buo kami, mas masaya,” offered Perez, who came away with Player of the Game honors. “Pag sama-sama mas may tsansa manalo.”

By beating Macau, SMB has regained much-needed confidence before heading into a killer stretch ahead, in which it will be facing Ginebra, current leaders Rain or Shine, and another rival in Magnolia in its next three games.

That starts this Easter Sunday with the Kings in a battle between long-time league heavyweights, to be held at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

“Going into this game, we were really worried because at 1-2, we cannot afford to lose another game at maging 1-3 before the Holy Week break,” Austria said.

“Magandang baon ito para papunta ng simbahan, maraming babati sa inyo na nanalo kayo,” the 68-year-old bench tactician added in jest.

(C) PBA Images

Tony Mitchell, on the other hand, had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Macau, who actually tried to fight back between the third and fourth quarters.

They managed to cut what was once a 25-point third-quarter gap to only eight early in the final period behind guard Phoenix Shackelford, but Cruz and Lassiter responded with five quick points to keep them at bay.

And those buckets would actually trigger the run to put it away for good, as Patton and Rodney Brondial came in to help out and put together a 12-0 rally in total to make it a 105-85 spread entering the game’s final seven minutes.

Damian Chongqui had 19 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Ramon Cao supplied a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Lao Chonpong made 15 points off the bench, while Jenning Leung added 11 points and nine rebounds for a Black Knights team that has hardly made any improvements despite bringing in a new head coach in Marcus Elliott.

The Scores:

San Miguel 110 – Perez 26, Patton 24, Fajardo 16, Lassiter 12, Trollano 10, Cruz 7, Tautuaa 6, Tiongson 5, Brondial 2, Calma 2, Miller 0, Cahilig 0, Mantua 0.

Macau 94 – Mitchell 23, Chongqui 19, Cao 18, Lao 15, Leung 11, Shackelford 6, Chao 2, Li 0, Lu 0, Chen 0, Zhu 0.

Quarterscores: 33-26, 62-51, 93-83, 110-94.

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