After steering De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde to a bridesmaid finish in NCAA Season 98, one thing is for sure about Will Gozum: one more year of eligibility.
But will the 6-foot-6 bruiser play it, or will he make a big leap to the pros or elsewhere?
Blazers head coach Charles Tiu revealed he is actually in talks with some teams abroad but stressed there's no concrete offer as of the moment for Gozum, who was named the MVP for the big role he played in Benilde's magical run this season.
"With Will, I don’t know, we’ll have to decide what’s best for him. Obviously, if he has a great opportunity to play somewhere else, then I’d be the first person to encourage him to go," said Tiu shortly after Benilde fell to Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Game 3 of the men's basketball finals last Sunday.
"Well, I’ve been talking to some teams also on his behalf without him knowing. Not that I’m his agent or anything, but we’re just always looking - even for JC (Cullar) and Jimboy (Pasturan) - where we can put them after this," he added.
"For now, there’s no concrete offer, but it wouldn’t be hard to find Will a team abroad to be honest."
Gozum was nothing short of dominant in Season 98, leading the league in scoring with an average of 16.73 points per game and placing fifth in rebounding with an average of 9.41 boards per game.
For Tiu, Gozum may just be ripe to take his act somewhere else, and if ever the young big man decides to do so, the tactician said he'll be supportive of it.
"Whatever his decision is, we’ll support him. I’m ready to go with Will or without Will," Tiu said.
"Our goal here is to give guys the best opportunity for their careers [and] their futures. He was just the MVP, but for us, that’s up to him to decide."
Gozum said he will first discuss his future with the coaches. After all, he just guided the Blazers to their first finals appearance since 2002, when legend Sunday Salvacion and Benilde were defeated by San Sebastian College-Recoletos in their Season 78 title showdown.
"Siyempre kakausapin ko yung school about that," the 23-year-old Gozum said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
