NCAA Season 99 has witnessed how deep Lyceum of the Philippines University bench is with the likes of stars Enoch Valdez, Shawn Umali, and John Barba taking turns carrying the load for the LPU Pirates so far.
But last week, they further emphasized their unpredictability as it was another Pirate, JM Bravo, who emerged as the latest hero for LPU.
The 6-foot-2 Bravo averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games as the Pirates extended their winning streak to four, enough for him to be hailed as the Collegiate Press Corps NCAA Player of the Week for the period Nov. 3 to 5.
Bravo edged out Jun Roque of Perpetual, Will Gozum of Benilde, and Clifford Jopia of San Beda for the weekly honors presented by San Miguel Corporation and backed by minor sponsors Discovery Suites and Jockey.
He churned out 12 points and nine rebounds in their tight 86-82 win over Mapua University last Friday before dropping 17 markers and four boards in their 85-79 win over the reigning champion Letran Knights to push Lyceum into a two-way tie with the Cardinals at 10-3 for the No. 1 seed.
His heroics included three clutch treys down the wire against the Knights to give the Pirates the finishing kick they needed.
Bravo said he drew confidence from the trust given to him by the coaches, despite him coming off the bench in those two crucial games.
"Para sa akin, sobra ang pasasalamat ko kay Coach Gilbert sa tiwala. 'Yung tiwala niya, hindi ko sasayangin, 'yan ang lagi kong sinasabi sa kanya," said Bravo, Lyceum's second-best scorer with an average of 11.85 points in 13 games behind Valdez.
"Binibigyan nila ako ng motivation na gawin ko lang ang ginagawa ko sa loob ng court."
("For me, I have a lot of gratitude to Coach Gilbert for the trust. I will not waste the trust he has in me, that's what I tell him... They gave me the motivation to keep doing what I do inside the court.")
Malabanan expects the Pirates to continue their selfless play and unpredictability as they aim not only for a Final Four slot but also a potential twice-to-beat incentive.
"Mas maganda nga 'yung ganun na hindi alam ng kalaban kung sino ang babantayan. So magko-concentrate sila sa team defense," Malabanan said.
"That's the good thing about us. Kahit sinong ipasok mo, ready naman dyan. Medyo flat lang sa simula pero kapag uminit naman, okay naman sila."
("It's better that way that the opponents don't know who to defend. So they need to concentrate on team defense... That's the good thing about us. No matter who you put in, they're ready. We're just kind of flat early on but once they heat up, they're okay.")
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
