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For someone who at one time had little hope of making it to the varsity team on the college level, lefty guard John Abad has carved out quite the career for the University of the Visayas Green Lancers. As the curtain closed on the pint-sized hotshot guard with the sidewinder set -shots collegiate career, he looked back on it with gratitude filled with highs and lows.
The 5-foot-7 guard, who had never known playing for any other school but the UV, ended his collegiate career on Monday afternoon, scoring 19 points to lead the Green Lancers to third place honors in the 2014 Philippine Collegiate Champions League with a resounding 63-60 win over the University of San Carlos Warriors. It was a victory that beckoned of bigger and better things for the Green Lancers after a disastrous Cesafi campaign that saw them fall from grace after winning it all in 2013.
But none of it would have been possible without the toughness and resilience of Abad, who got his break with the Baby Lancers, winning a title in 2007 and making the Mythical Five twice and while he dreamed of making it to the collegiate ranks, he had his doubts mainly because of his height or more specifically, lack thereof.
“Ganahan jud ko muduwa sa college pero nag-duha-duha kay kuwang man ko sa height. Pero dako ko ug pasalamat ni Coach (Boy) Cabahug kay iya ko gi-encourage ug gitagaan ko niya ug chance na makaduwa diri na level,” (I had second thoughts playing basketball while in college due to the lack of my height but I am thankful to Coach Cabahug for encouraging me and giving me the chance to play in this level) said the soft-spoken guard.
Though he was never the fastest nor the strongest on the floor, he never lacked in heart. This he proved time and time again, hitting one big shot after another but none more significant than the ones he made in willing the Green Lancers to the title in 2013. Down 0-2 in the best-of-five finals series against a mighty opponent in the Southwestern University Cobras, Abad stepped up to the plate and delivered a performance that still echoes across the halls of UV’s campus as he towed the Lancers to the crown, winning it all in Game 5 capped by a 17-point outburst. It was a feat that to this day Abad remembers quite vividly.
“Dili jud ko kalimot atong Game Five. Dugay sad mi naghuwat ato because sa malfunction sa scoreboard but I remember Coach (Felix) Belano telling us that this was our chance and that dapat kuhaon na namo. Nindut sad kaayo among depensa ato,” (I will never forget Game Five. We waited long for it because the scoreboard malfunctioned by I remember Coach Belano telling us that this was our chance and that we should win the game) narrated Abad of that fateful game that gave him his first and only title in college.
But surprisingly, Abad cited an entirely different campaign as the highlight of his career so far: the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia where he played for flag and country, representing the Philippines.
“Di jud ko makalimot sa lessons na among nakat-unan didto playing against players who were bigger and taller than us. Wala gud mi import ato na time so we had to lean on one another. Bahalag pildi mi, it was an experience na di nako malimtan, to be able to play against players from different countries,” said Abad.
Congressman Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas, also the Green Lancers’ team manager, also had nothing but high praise for Abad who he said embodied the true “Visayanian spirit.”
“A true Visayanian. He never left us even when he was recruited by teams from Manila. From high school player to undertrainee in college to college superstar. A true story that height isn't a hindrance to success. It's the heart of an individual that truly matters. Abad had a whole lot of it,” Gullas said.
Jonas Rey N. Panerio
Contributor - Sports & Lifestyle
Photos by:
Ron Tolin
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