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The last time I saw this matchup was when UST defeated Ateneo in the 2006 UAAP Finals. |
The
the myth of Super Ababou mellowed when Rajko Toroman demoted Dylan to reserve
status.
Well, that sucked but it's not as if he is the only ex-UAAP MVP who struggled under the Serbian coaching sensation.
*cough* Rabeh Al-Hussaini *cough*
Before his entry to the Smart-Gilas
squad, Ababou was the University of
Santo Tomas’ scoring machine. He was part of the UST squad that wrestled
the title away from Ateneo’s JC Intal,
Doug Kramer, and Macky Escalona – which was enough for me to root for the
endeavors of Ababou, Jervy Cruz, Khasim
Mirza, Japs Cuan, Francis Allera, Mark Canlas, Jun Cortez, and the others
involved in that Pido Jarencio
ensemble. Ababou then emerged from the shadows of Cruz when the behemoth
graduated and Dylan became the Growling Tigers’ heart and soul. He caught his
UAAP Most Valuable Player trophy when he and Mirza were UST’s fangs. However,
the problem is that while Ababou has the size to contend at the four spot – he
is not an inside presence. UST lost the UAAP title that season because there
was no one to contend against the bigs of Ateneo, UE, and FEU. This problem haunted the squad until the entry of Cameroonian Karim Abdul.
When Ababou
was relegated to the ninth spot at the
2011 PBA Draft, people felt Ababou’s stock has severely fallen. Well, if
you compare him to RJ Jazul – he
seems luckier. Jazul fell to the mid-second round of the 2010 PBA Draft because
the former Letran Knight is too
offensive-minded to play the point guard position and too small to play the
shooting guard role. This also sucks for Jazul because of his former Smart-Gilas
and Letran tag team partner Rey Guevarra
was selected as the third pick overall to the surprise of many. But while Jazul will have a shot for
more minutes since he has joined former Smart-Gilas teammate Magi Sison at the Shopinas.com Clickers’ roster... Ababou will have to fight for his
time against veterans Danny Seigle,
Sunday Salvacion, and Leo Avenido and Ababou’s former UST teammate Allein Maliksi.
Maliksi
was a mere backup to Ababou during his UST days but Maliksi spent his post-UST
days honing his craft at the PBA
D-League. Maliksi playing for the Cebuana
Lhuillier Gems took the squad to the D-League finals. Despite failing to
give the team the title, Maliksi ended up as the league’s first-ever MVP.
This
is the reason why Maliksi was picked two places before Ababou. When it was
Ginebra’s turn to pick, they were shocked that Ababou was still available but
they resisted temptation and managed to stick with their original yearning
which was Reil Cervantes.
During
the 2011-12 PBA All-Filipino Cup’s
first week, Ababou scored his first DNP.
That
was enough to wake up Super Ababou.
I am
just baffled as to why people can’t use Ababou. The guy will resort to
everything just to be important. I saw him in the NBA All-Stars exhibition match doing the dirty work on the inside
and making things happen for the squad. I saw him in the 2011 Jones Cup when he resisted sickness to administer the needed
tools to make his self visible. I do not believe for a second that Junel Baculi had a game plan that had
Dylan Ababou getting the scoring nod over Miller and Seigle. But with the
inconsistency of Miller and the absence of Seigle, Baculi gave Ababou the
chance to shine and he laid waste of the currently-struggling Ginebra squad. Ababou used his range to
extend the defense and he was also helpful at the defensive end, especially in
Barako Bull’s epic second quarter run. Ginebra had no answer for him and I
wonder if Ginebra is having second thoughts because they passed up an
opportunity to snag him in the draft. He finished the ballgame with 20 points –
the third 20-point game for a rookie this season after Paul Lee and Mac Baracael.
He
then churned out the fourth 20-point rookie game after laying waste of the
undermanned Talk N Text Tropang Texters.
I believe his output is more impressive here than the Ginebra game because
Willie Miller had his most explosive output in five conferences with 27 points
and yet he again finished with 20. Mick
Pennisi, the most consistent Barako Bull player this season at 36, had 18
points. Ababou managed to dislodge Sunday Salvacion from the minutes he had in his first game and he caused Leo Avenido to DNP the team’s third game.
While
the verdict is in on whether or not Ababou’s scoring outpour will continue with
a healthy Seigle in tow. Salvacion and Avenido are bound to reclaim their minutes. Plus Maliksi is also impressive in their games. But as of this moment, Super Ababou
takes the cake! With the Fil-Am invasion, MBA acquisitions, and the collegiate
superstars that came in and dominated the league, who was the last rookie to
score consecutive 20 points in their first two games in the majors?
And yeah...
VIVA SANTO TOMAS!
Game
over.
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