ONE OF UST’S most dominant big man has long been retired. So was Chris Cantonjos’ jersey No. 15.
But the 37-year-old former center remains as committed to the game in his capacity as head coach of the women’s basketball team and assistant mentor for the Growling Tigers.
Cantonjos played in an era where the Tigers were the most dominant force in collegiate basketball. With him on the bench were pivot man Dennis Espino and Siot Tanquingcen, now an accomplished coach in the pro ranks.
Cantonjos was part of the national team that won the gold both in the Southeast Asian Games and the Southeast Asia Basketball Association championships in 1997 and 1998, respectively.
Indeed, this native of Donsol, Sorsogon had gone a long way after he was first discovered in a basketball tryout in Bicol.
Cantojos first showed potential as a post-up player while playing for the Donsol National Comprehensive High School. A friend who used to play for Jose Rizal College urged him to try his luck in the big league in Manila.
Top amateur
He spent the other half of his high school playing for the Colegio de San Juan de Letran soon after the school’s athletics director, Fr. Edgardo Alaurin O.P., saw his inside game. He did not immediately blossom into a superstar, but was quietly honing his skills.
“I was not the top player, but I was competitive,” he recalled. “I was staying in the dorm but the basketball court was my virtual home. My life then was all about basketball.”
He impressed college scouts during a tune-up game between Letran and a Philippine Basketball League team 1990. Maggie Tabora, then assistant coach of Burger Machine and the then Glowing Goldies, took notice and invited him to try out with UST.
“Even if you are still in high school, you can already keep up with the amateur basketball players,” he quoted Tabora as telling him.
The UST tryout pitted him against Espino, then the school’s star player, but he held his own. “I was able to play good defense against him that’s why he struggled offensively,” he said.
After the game, he was tapped by then UST coach Aric del Rosario, who told him: “You now move to the quarters.”
Injury-prone
Cantonjos’ career with the Tigers was a sterling one. He picked up from where Espino left off and led UST to back-to-back championships against archrival De La Salle University
He was named the UAAP’s Most Valuable Player in 1995 and was twice picked in the league’s mythical selection. He was also the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s athlete of the year, and was a member of the first and second mythical teams during his PBL career.
Cantonjos joined forces with La Salle rival Mark Telan in leading the defunct Tanduay Rhum Masters, formerly known as the Stag Pale Pilsen, to seven PBL titles.
Cantonjos’ professional career was not as remarkable as his amateur experience. He played as a second stringer for at least three PBA squads and never really blossomed into a low-post threat. His pro stint came to an end in 2003 due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a practice game with Sta. Lucia Realty.
“Parang gumuho ang buhay ko. Kung kelan ako naging professional player, saka pa ako nagka-injury.Minalas na ako after amateur career,” he said.
Cantonjos worked abroad for a year, but eventually returned to the country and to his first love: basketball.Chenny V. Ramos
