JD Cagulangan’s journey in the UAAP was a testament to his hard work and resolve to make the best happen for himself and his budding basketball career.
Well before he wrote his legend in Diliman, JD Cagulangan was once known as Joel Cagulangan, a champion guard coming out of La Salle Green Hills joining the De La Salle Green Archers over in Taft to begin his collegiate career.
In a different time, Cagulangan could have donned Green and White threads for the duration of his amateur career. First with the LSGH Greenies as a high school star, then with the Archers as the next big collegiate point guard starting in 2019.
But fate had other plans for Cagulangan, who was relegated to a benchwarmer in Season 82 as a rookie for the Archers. From a star recruit in high school, the proud son of Butuan was sidelined as soon as he entered the collegiate ranks over in Taft.
As a result, he found himself transferring to UP Diliman, trading the Green and White for the Maroon and Green in an attempt to find his place in the collegiate ranks.
Cagulangan, though, remains grateful for his time as a Green Archer. It was a low point, yes, but it also gave him the necessary foundations to thrive in the UAAP men’s basketball scene. Not to mention, such adversity-filled times can only sharpen one’s resolve down the line.
“‘Yung stint ko sa La Salle, sobrang laking tulong sakin kasi after that season, nakita ko na ‘yung reality pagdating sa college na basketball, very thankful pa rin naman ako na naging part ako sa kanila and marami akong natutunan,” Cagulangan reflected hours after UP clinched the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball title against La Salle on Sunday.
“Of course, ‘yung mga veteran guards doon, sina Andrei Caracut, of course si Kuya Aljun Melecio, madami akong natutunan sa kanila kung paano nila hina-handle ‘yung pressure, siguro doon ko unang na-witness ‘yun,” he added, referring to DLSU’s guard rotation in Season 82 that also included Jordan Bartlett, Encho Serrano and Keyshawn Meeker.
It goes without saying that Cagulangan got his much-needed breakthrough with the Fighting Maroons, which was first headlined by his Game 3 heroics in their Season 84 title run against the Ateneo Blue Eagles two years ago.
However, his time in State U was far from a storybook path. Shortly after his Season 84 heroics, Cagulangan and UP would concede the title to redemption-seeking Ateneo in Season 85, before failing to close out Kevin Quiambao and DLSU in Season 86.
Season 87 wasn’t much easier, with pressure mounting on State U to avoid a third-straight runner-up finish. Yet despite these setbacks, JD Cagulangan trusted the process and did his part to become the best player he could be for the Fighting Maroons.
“Siguro ano lang [what made him successful], hindi naman lahat ibibigay ng Diyos sayo, may part ng life mo na mababa ka talaga, so ang tanong doon is kung paano mo io-overcome ‘yung challenge na ‘yon,” Cagulangan said. “Naging thankful lang ako kay God kasi ginuide nya ako nang maayos, na hindi niya ako pinabayaan nung mga times na ‘yun. Especially nung after ko sa La Salle kasi nag-[COVID-19] pandemic pa.”
And now, JD Cagulangan will exit the UAAP as a two-time champion, and one-time Mythical Five member for the Fighting Maroons. This, on top of accompanying his Season 87 title with a Finals MVP nod in his collegiate farewell.
From being a castaway in Taft, he has emerged as a hero in Diliman, with his initials “JD” forever being associated with “UP”. All this, after he bet on himself and used his adversities to sharpen his resolve in what has been a roller coaster of a journey so far.
“Sabi nga ni Coach Gold [Monteverde], ‘life is not fair’, so tumatak sa akin ‘yun kasi may mga instances talaga sa journey namin ni Coach Gold na ups and downs talaga,” the Butuan native said.
“But I realized that life is not fair, so lahat ng mga ginagawa mo kailangan mo ibigay ‘yung 100 percent mo para masabi mo sa sarili mo na ginawa mo lahat, na wala kang pagsisishan. Although may struggles ka, kailangan mo lang i-overcome ‘yun and maniwala na kaya mo,” he concluded.
Banner image taken by Kieran Punay of KLIQ Inc.