Not long ago, the Growling Tigers were among the top teams in the Philippine collegiate basketball with a solid core of talents—CJ Cansino, Renzo Subido, Rhenz Abando, Soulemane Chabi-Yo, Brent Paraiso and Mark Nonoy—under the tutelage of coach Aldin Ayo.
But gone are those days.
With the new UAAP season set to open on March 26, UST is fielding an entirely new team seeking to rebuild the one disbanded prematurely during the pandemic.
Leading the charge is new team captain Paul Manalang, a former National University Bullpup brought in by Ayo in late 2019, a year after the Tigers reached the UAAP finals and lost to the Ateneo de Manila University.
Manalang, who spent the last two years fulfilling his residency requirements, now finds himself in unfamiliar territory, rookie team captain who has yet to play a single minute as a UAAP senior.
“‘Yun ‘yung binigay sakin ni coach na challenge. Kailangan i-accept ko ‘yong challenge na ‘yun and embrace ko ‘yong responsibility and ‘yong role as a team captain,” he said.
Manalang said team veterans Sherwin Concepcion and Dave Ando, who were part of the Tigers’ Season 82 lineup, were helpful in his transition to team captain.
“Iniisip ko noong una na baka ‘di sila makinig but eventually noong tumagal, na-earn ko naman ‘yung respect ng pagiging isang leader,” he said. “Sila yung nagiging sandalan ko kapag may kailangan akong message na i-send sa team namin.”
Manalang said he would do his best to retain the identity of Ayo’s Tigers.
“‘Yong natirang staff ngayon is staff pa din ni coach Aldin. So siguro, same pa rin ‘yong identity ng Growling Tigers, siguro ngayon lang mas gutom and mas excited kami,” Manalang said.
The Growling Tigers will begin their UAAP Season 84 campaign against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on March 26 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
