MANY months ago, when Kiefer Ravena’s talent miserably failed to deliver the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) crown to Ateneo and Kevin Ferrer’s three-point shooting fell short in handing University Santo Tomas (UST) the crown during the Season 77 best-of-three title series, it was a lesser star—but and probably a bigger talent—that came through and crowned Far Eastern king of varsity basketball.
Mac Belo drowned out his frustrations that marked his three seasons with the Tamaraws and nailed the crown for them in dramatic fashion, capped by a tremendous defensive effort he had on a fast-breaking Ed Daquioag of the Growling Tigers.
“There is a new standard for true grit in college basketball,” I wrote then of Belo. “He was the caped superhero who willed his team back into the game, and on to victory.”
Even then, I realized he was a gem of a talent, a raw material for the next class of Gilas cadets to watch out for. Not only has he cracked the elite Gilas lineup, this week he will step into the podium of the 2016 PBA special draft at the top of the Gilas class. He will be made top pick by the Blackwater Elite, a two-year expansion team that has not seen a glimmer of sunshine the past two seasons.
In their maiden campaign during the 2014-2015 season, Blackwater finished dead last three times in three tourneys. It’s not about the name that’s weighing the team down. In a top-heavy league, it simply is a Lilliputian among the giants like TNT Katropa and San Miguel Beer.
“I am very tired of being at the bottom these past two years,”a vocal, frustrated team owner Dioceldo Sy has told the press. He is on a business trip to Vancouver, but his mind was thousands of miles away, contemplating the future of the Elite where Belo could be the centerpiece in his rebuilding program.
“I think our time has arrived,” Sy says.
That should show how much confidence Belo has breathed into this so-so team. He should be a perfect fit for the Elite that already has the promising 6-foot-7 John Paul Erram, whose breakthrough season in the recent Governor’s Cup was ended by an ACL injury.
Belo is coming into a team that desperately needs a savior, and he could be it. From where I sit, returning to basketball mania after three days of business meetings in Beijing, I had an instinctive sense that he could be the next big thing in Philippine basketball, given that his “skill-set is one to behold,” in the phrase of Fox Sports Asia.
To the Elite, he is an alluring prize that fits this bill to a tee, an instant infusion of talent, boundless energy and on-court leadership. But Sy has realized that Blackwater must cast its net far and wide and look for good pickups from the free-agent market or through trades to bolster its lineup. He should be busy in the next two weeks foraging the free-agent market and making use of the team’s draft rights.
Blackwater, he sounds definite, “should improve.”
Meralco, also a former expansion team, has shown that the conference finals need not be the land exclusive for the giants by taking out the toughest of them all, TNT Katropa, in the semifinal round. With Norman Black at the helm, the Bolts had taken their eye-popping act to a title series they were extremely unlucky to lose in the face of a tremendous effort by the Ginebra Gin Kings.
Belo as a Gilas cadet has been a team standout, and has convinced many that he is Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) material on the way to its highest level. “Every coach I’ve talked to have him as a standout,” says Alaska’s Alex Compton. “I think Mac Belo is a clear standout.” Among coaches Black of Meralco, Yeng Guiao of NLEX and Jong Uichico of TNT Katropa, Belo and fellow Gilas cadet standout Jiovani Jalalon would be the top 2 choices.
Although he needs polishing, he has shown excellent footwork and positional play, a tough inside game, a no-nonsense approach to defense and the right attitude and work ethic. He should be that tireless, never-say-die player who gives a hundred percent in every game.
“Belo isn’t the tallest guy here…but he’s not the type who will shy away from big moments,” writes Fox Sports Asia, adding that he is “an enticing option at the 3.”
Are we seeing the coming of Blackwater’s savior?