NU secures blue-chip basketball recruits

MANILA, Philippines -- Two new blue-chip recruits are entering the National University Bulldogs’ cage.

Following the departures of Kean Baclaan and Mike Malonzo, NU was able to secure the commitments of newly crowned UAAP juniors basketball champions Tebol Garcia and Vince Reyes.

Garcia and Reyes were instrumental in helping the Adamson Baby Falcons end their 31-year championship drought.

Now, they will be bringing that championship pedigree to Jhocson Street.

The 5-foot-11 Garcia averaged 12.4 points, 5.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals as the lead guard of the Baby Falcons.

On the other hand, the 6-foot-3 Reyes averaged 12.7 points, 7.3 boards, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals a game.

“These two are big additions to the team. They are not just good players, they are also winners,” NU head coach Jeff Napa said.

They will be joining a deep Bulldogs team that reached the Final Four in the past two UAAP seasons.

Next season, the team will continually be led by Jake Figueroa, Steve Nash Enriquez and Reinhard Jumamoy.

Garcia ranked fifth among the Philippines’ high school players, according to the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC,) while Reyes ranked seventh.

Earlier, Baclaan left NU to go to reigning UAAP champions La Salle Green Archers.

“This is a big step forward for us, and hopefully, Jake, Nash and Reinhard continue to mature. And, with these new promising players, we can move forward more,” Napa added.