'Champion na' : Rocky basketball journey culminates in perfect destination for Mapua’s Hubilla

MANILA, Philippines -- There was a point in Chris Hubilla’s young basketball career that he wanted to call it quits.

The former NCAA Juniors’ Mythical Five member was a highly-touted prospect out of San Beda.

After a one-and-done stint in the juniors ranks, he committed to University of the Philippines. But he changed his mind and jumped ship to Letran. However, just before the NCAA Season 100 started, he found himself heading about a kilometer away to Mapua University.

It was a long and winding road for Hubilla, who on Saturday can call himself a champion in the collegiate ranks.

The 6-foot-4 forward came up big in Mapua’s 94-82 clincher against the College of St. Benilde Blazers, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds, two steals and an assist in about 30 minutes of floor time.

After Saturday’s win, Hubilla said that there were a lot of times he was disheartened especially with the rocky start to his career.

He said that him being far from his province of Sorsogon also took its toll on him, especially at a very young age.

“Nung nagpalipat-lipat ako, parang pinanghinaan na ako ng loob. Pinanghinaan ako dahil sa mga nang-bash sa akin, na palipat-lipat ako,” he said.

“Siyempre, nagpalipat-lipat ako noon. Yun, nakatulong lang sa akin yung family ko talaga, kasi sabi ko uuwi na ako ng probinsya dahil parang napanghinaan na ako dahil saan-saan na ako napunta. Nagkasakit pa papa ko. Sobrang nalugmok talaga ako,” he added.

However, he kept his faith in the Lord and trusted His plans.

“Ang una kong nilapitan, si Lord na talaga. Nagdasal ako kay Lord. Una pa lang, wala naman talaga akong balak mag-Maynila e. Doon pa lang sa amin, marami nang kumukuha sa akin sa Maynila ayaw ko kasi walang-wala talaga e. Hindi ko alam saan ako pupulutin sa Maynila pag pumunta ako doon,” he said.

And now, the long road he had to go through came together for good.

“Ito ang plan sa akin ni Lord. Ito ang plan na maabot ko ang championship. Dati, bata pa lang ako, gusto ko ring makatuntong ng finals. Pero ito na,” he added.

Aside from the championship, Hubilla was named the NCAA Season 100 Rookie of the Year and Freshman of the Year with averages of 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in the eliminations.

But the work does not stop there.

“Noong una, pinasa-Diyos ko lang lahat talaga. Sabi ko kay Lord, ikaw ang dahilan na nadito ako, ikaw ang dahilan kung asaan ako ngayon. Ikaw rin ang bahala kung saan. Sinunod ko lang ang desire ng puso ko, desire ng family ko, and at the same time trinabaho ko ito,” he said.

“Hindi ako nagpahinga nung offseason, nag-ligang labas ako, finocus ko sa sarili ko. Hinayaan ko ang mga basher kasi alam ko na hindi naman sila makakatulong sa akin. Parang ginawa ko lang silang motivation. At the same time, maraming naniwala sa akin. Family ko, mga kababayan ko sa akin,” he added.

“Sobrang happy lang kasi ito na, champion na ako, hindi na matatawaran kahit saan pumunta. Champion na. Pero siyempre, may pangarap pa rin ako. Hanggang dulo, tatrabahuin ko rin.”