Eagles enlist another blue-chip rookie

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo netted another talented rookie as former National team mainstay Michael Jay Javelosa said yesterday he will suit up for the Blue Eagles in the 77th UAAP basketball wars this July.

“I want to play for Ateneo to fulfill my promise to my late grandfather,” said Javelosa yesterday.

Javelosa, 18, will thus join a group of top neophytes that included Arvin Tolentino of San Beda and Clint Doliguez and John Apacible of Hope Christian School.

It will actually be a homecoming for Javelosa as he also studied and played for Ateneo Blue Eaglets with former teammates and now college standouts Kiefer Ravena and Von Pessumal before transferring to Reedley International School where he finished his high school studies.

“I left Ateneo because I want to play for the national team back then. I’m very thankful I will have another chance to play for Ateneo one more time,” said Javelosa.

Javelosa was also part of the starting five of the Olsen Racela-coached national team that won the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Under-16 gold in Malaysia three years ago and finished fifth in the FIBA-Asia Under-18 Championship in Vietnam two years back.

The rebuilding Eagles are all out to redeem themselves after failing to make it to the Final Four last season.

Now on its second year of its rebuilding process, Ateneo will need all the talents it could get to fill the vacuum left by Ryan Buenafe, Juami Tiongson, JP Erram and Frank Golla.

It will be the spots of big men Erram and Golla, however, that the 6-6 Javelosa will fight to get his minutes from.

“It’s up to the coaching staff, I’m just there to help the team in any way I can,” he said.