With Lyceum of the Philippines University back again in the Final Four, Enoch Valdez has a chance to accomplish what CJ Perez failed to do during his collegiate career in the NCAA.
Perez, considered as one of the renowned products of Lyceum of the Philippines University, steered the Pirates to back-to-back Finals appearances in Season 93 and 94 and also bagged the MVP plum and Mythical Five inclusion both in 2017.
However, there is something missing in Perez' collection of achievements: an NCAA championship.
Valdez, who is considered as a protege of Perez, is eager to eclipse what his mentor did for the Pirates.
"Goal ko personally is gusto kong mahigitan talaga ‘yung hindi nagawa ni kuya CJ sa Lyceum," Valdez said on Friday.
"Gusto ko nga isabit ‘yung jersey ko sa Lyceum eh. We’re lucky na sobrang laki talaga ng chance namin."
(My goal personally is to exceed what kuya CJ has not done in Lyceum. I actually want my jersey to be put up in LPU's rafters. We're lucky we have a big chance.)
But more than that, Valdez stressed his primary goal is to bring his team to the top.
The 6-foot-3 cager starred for the Pirates in their Final Four-clinching win against a pesky San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Friday, dropping an all-around performance of 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, and two steals as he made it two semis appearances in a row.
According to the graduating team captain, he just made sure to bounce back after a tough 81-80 loss to Perpetual last Sunday, which saw him miss two crucial free throws down the stretch en route to the heartbreaking defeat sealed by a triple from Mark Denver Omega.
"Gusto ko talagang bumawi kasi nung after ng Perpetual (game) hindi talaga ako makatulog nang maayos kasi feeling ko parang nababa ko ‘yung team ko," Valdez shared.
"So gustong-gusto kong bumawi at patunayan sa kanila na gusto ko na sama-sama kaming umangat para sa goal namin na Finals. Malapit na, konting trabaho na lang."
(I really want to come back after the game against Perpetual because I was not able to sleep well as I felt that I let my team down. I really want to bounce back and prove to them that we are progressing together to reach the Finals. It's near.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
