By Jerome Lagunzad
Top gunner J-Jay Alejandro and sweet-shooting big man Matt Salem have been tapped to provide the needed stability and leadership for a relatively young Blazers crew which is making an early buildup for NCAA Season 94 cage wars.
The 5-foot-11 Alejandro emerged as the lone bright spot for the Bulldogs’ failed bid in the UAAP Season 80 tournament, piling up 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals on the way to being named to the Mythical Team.
The 6-foot-3 Salem, the team’s co-skipper along with Alejandro, also proved solid with averages of 8.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals, helping the Bulldogs stretch the defense with his outside shooting.
St. Benilde coach TY Tang admitted the addition of both players should be a welcome development for the Blazers, who will field in the likes of guard Unique Naboa, Kendrix Belgica, Edward Dixon and Senegalese big man Clement Leutcheu.
“They can help us out in terms of improving our competitiveness. That’s one of the things that we lacked in the previous NCAA season,” said Tang in a phone interview with Tempo-Bulletin yesterday.
“We need to believe more in ourselves and our confidence has to go up for us to compete in a better manner. Aside from that, ‘yung experience nila malaking bagay. They have played collegiate basketball for quite sometime so they will bring a lot of positives in our program.”
A former pro league champion with Rain or Shine, Tang added the Blazers are determined to make the most of their upcoming stint in the latest D-League conference that will also feature several NCAA teams.
