Where does JD Cagulangan rank in the pantheon of the greatest men’s basketball players to ever don the State U jersey?
At Monday night’s bonfire at the Sunken Garden honoring UP’s UAAP Season 87 champion teams in men’s track and field, women’s badminton, and men’s basketball, there was a palpable excitement as UP Office of Athletics and Sports Development (OASD) Director Bo Perasol introduced members of the UPMBT one by one.
Starting from rookie back-up guard Denzil Walker, the players were called up to the stage. When there was only one player left, the crowd cheered lustily in anticipation as Perasol began his introduction. He had barely finished his first sentence when he was cut off by the UP faithful’s cheers.
Chants of “MVP! MVP!” echoed in the Garden as JD Cagulangan took the stage. He was, understandably, introduced last, an honor bestowed on him as the graduating Finals MVP and undisputed leader of this champion team.
In the finals against the defending champion DLSU Green Archers, Cagulangan put up 13.7 points and 4.7 assists and was on the court for an average of around 35 minutes per game. Those numbers might not jump out at you, but the statistics don’t show the respect Cagulangan commanded from teammates and opponents alike. While Quentin Millora-Brown and Francis Lopez were both imposing physical specimens and at times unstoppable, there is no question that the Fighting Maroons would not have won the Season 87 crown without Cagulangan.
Joel Diomar (JD to the public and Maimai to his friends and family) Cagulangan arrived in Diliman as a transferee from La Salle, and leaves as one of the most popular players in the school’s UAAP history.
In fact, it could even be argued that he is the greatest men’s basketball player from the University of the Philippines. There are at least a dozen players in State U’s history who were taller and faster and quicker, had more talent, shot the ball better, and even had higher basketball IQ. Two of them are even among the PBA’s 40 Greatest. But when counting UAAP awards and accomplishments, JD Cagulangan is without peer.
However, these “greatest ever” debates inevitably fall into a certain dichotomy: is it the most accomplished, or is it the most talented? And for the latter, cases could be made for two big men who were also key members of past champion teams.
Centers of Attention
For a certain generation of UP fans (basically those belonging to Generation X, of which this writer is a member), Benjie Paras is and forever will be the definitive Fighting Maroon. When people of a certain age refer to late 1980s UP basketball, specifically the fabled championship team of 1986, they almost always describe it as “panahon nina Paras.” When you’re the defining description of a generation, then you’re already legendary.
Paras is, unquestionably, the best basketball player that UP has ever produced: a formidable presence in the post who had the optimal combination of height, athleticism, shooting touch, basketball IQ, and raw strength. To this day, he remains the only player to have won the PBA’s MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in the same year, and the only player from UP to win PBA MVP, which he did twice. He has also won medals at the international level – a Southeast Asian Games gold and an Asian Games silver – something JD hasn’t done so far.
Most importantly to the Gen. X part of UP fandom, Paras was the most popular member of UP’s ‘86 champion team. Like Cagulangan in Season 87, UP would not have won it in all in Season 49 without the Tower of Power.
But when strictly comparing their achievements at the UAAP level, Paras actually falls just short of Malick Diouf, who won just as many UAAP championships as Paras but also has a regular season MVP and finals MVP to his name. (A fantasy one-on-one between Paras and Diouf would have been something to watch, though. I personally think Benjie would ultimately win simply because prime Paras was quicker and probably stronger.)
To be fair to Paras, though, the UAAP in the 1980s was terribly inconsistent in its award-giving protocol. For instance, in 1986 the league did not name a regular season MVP, Mythical Five or Rookie of the Year (Eric Altamirano was ultimately the only award recipient, named “Most Outstanding Player of the Finals”). Paras was thus denied a sure Rookie of the Year award and possible Mythical Five selection.
After the ’86 title run, though, the well pretty much dried up for Paras in the UAAP, even as he was the best collegiate center in his last playing year. Like Diouf, he played just three seasons in Diliman, famously foregoing his last two playing years to turn pro at the age of 20. In his last two seasons the Maroons didn’t make it back to the finals, finishing third on both occasions.
In contrast, Diouf played in three straight finals and played more games. And standing six-foot-eleven, he is also quite possibly the tallest Fighting Maroon of all time and almost certainly the best among the handful of Maroon players who measured six-nine and above. If we’re creating fantasy teams involving all UP players past and present, Diouf would be a solid pick at no.1.
However, a head-to-head statistical comparison between both big men is virtually impossible since statistics from Paras’ playing years of 1986-88 are difficult to find, but Paras almost certainly had the higher scoring average.
The Case for JD Cagulangan
Yet, if we are talking about UAAP accomplishments, both Diouf and Paras pale in comparison to JD Cagulangan. Along with Terrence Fortea, Gerry Abadiano, and Harold Alarcon, he is one of just four players in UP history to have played in four straight finals and won two UAAP titles. Among those four, he is the only one with a Finals MVP and Mythical Five selection.
Cagulangan’s leadership skills are also worth mentioning. This is not to say that Paras and Diouf weren’t leaders in their own right, but if a stranger watched a UP game from this year, he’d likely walk away thinking that JD was the leader of this team. He just has a presence about him. Paras became the focal point of UP’s offense only in his third year, after Altamirano and Ronnie Magsanoc had left. The ever-smiling Diouf was respected and beloved by his teammates, and for one season he had the best overall statistics, but you never got the feeling that it was his team.
And one more thing going for Cagulangan: he possesses the ultimate signature moment. His title-winning three-point shot in Game 3 of the Season 84 finals is arguably the biggest basket in Maroons basketball history. It was one of those historic “where were you when…” events that will forever live in social media. (For those wondering, I’d rank as second the late Ramil Cruz’s lay-up at the buzzer against FEU in a 1986 elimination round game that prevented the Tamaraws from locking up the second finals slot.)
Plus, more than any other player, Cagulangan had a direct hand in the last two UP titles. In Season 84, it was his buzzer-beater. In Season 87, it was his triple that shattered a 58-all tie and gave UP the lead it would never relinquish.
Eventually, though, this argument will always circle back to your definition of “greatest ever.” Similar to Mon Fernandez vs. June Mar Fajardo or Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James, some people will go with statistics and awards, while others will go with intangibles. There is really no right or wrong answer.
The TLDR version? Benjie Paras is the best and most talented player ever from UP, while Malick Diouf probably has the best balance of accomplishments (one championship, one Finals MVP, one regular MVP) and raw physical attributes (the player you’d want to build a fantasy team around). And finally, JD Cagulangan has the best UAAP résumé and is the one player directly responsible for the most number of UAAP championships.
Banner images from Kieran Punay/KLIQ inc.