Second-year guard Andrew Bongo is emerging as another sound contributor for the Blue Eagles’ ongoing rebuild.
Beyond the fanfare towards rookies Jared Bahay and Kris Porter and the emergence of Shawn Tuano, another sophomore guard in Andrew Bongo has begun to find his groove for the Blue Eagles well into their Season 87 campaign.
Bongo is averaging 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in Ateneo’s 2-0 start to Round 2, led by his 14 points and seven rebounds in their 67-64 win over the UST Growling Tigers. Despite this, he’s already shown flashes throughout Round 1, which included a career-high 17 points against the NU Bulldogs.
The California native is also the Eagles’ fourth-leading scorer, averaging 7.22 points after nine games played for Season 87. Likewise, he’s a part of the league’s top snipers, with his 14 triples made to tie at fifth overall, and his 31.82 percent clip (14 out of 44 triples made) being good for seventh in terms of efficiency.
“It feels good to be able to help my team. To be able to contribute to what we’re doing…Our main goal is to put Ws on the board so we’re working on that so it’s good that we have pieces pulling through together,” he told The GAME after Ateneo bucked UST’s homecourt advantage at the Quadricentennial Pavilion over the weekend.
“[We’re] just doing our job, just really working as a team, you know? Trying to get those Ws ‘cause in the first round, we didn’t have our best start so we gotta put ourselves in a better place now,” he added, referring to Ateneo’s 1-6 start to the season.
Standing at 6-foot-4, Bongo committed to Ateneo in 2021, but only debuted for the Blue Eagles in Season 86 last year. While he joined during a rebuilding phase, the big guard is nonetheless grateful for representing the Blue and White in the UAAP.
After all, the Ateneo community remains as supportive as ever in these trying times. On top of that, Bongo knows that his batch is building their own brand of brotherhood similar to the BEBOB culture of the years past.
“The support is everything, you know? Even the brotherhood that we’re building, even the brotherhood that’s come before…Everything’s great and we’d love to keep fighting for the school,” he said.
Bongo has also emerged as one of the Blue Eagles’ kuyas, which is an unfamiliar, but welcome role he’s taking on as one of six holdovers from Season 86.
“It’s been good, you know? Having lesser of the vets, and more of the rookies, I gotta help these guys. I gotta step into these roles that I haven’t been in before. It’s been good, I’ve really been trying to help the team out and really trying to build something great out here,” he said.
And as he continues to grow, Andrew Bongo is also establishing a bigger role in Tab Baldwin’s legendary system in Katipunan.
“Coach Tab is one of…I’d say one of the best coaches that I’ve ever, probably the best coach I’ve played for. So you know, learning from him, there’s so much you can absorb and expand on. So it’s just really great to have trust [from] him, and to be able to be a part of his system.”
The Blue Eagles hold a 3-6 record as of writing, and will face the defensive-minded Adamson next, along with defending champs La Salle over the weekend. Round 2 won’t be any easier, but Bongo knows that his Eagles have learned from their Round 1 heartbreaks as they make up for lost ground late into Season 87.
“I’d say we’re playing together a lot more, we’re understanding each other a lot more. The chemistry is pretty built and we’re gonna continue to keep trying to build on that…And playing together, trusting our system, our defense, and everything,” he said.
Banner image courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.