Jorick Bautista is making the most out of his new role early into UAAP Season 87 with the FEU Tamaraws.
After three UAAP campaigns with FEU, Jorick Bautista now finds himself as one of the Tamaraws’ veterans within their rookie-laden core in Morayta. It’s a full-circle moment for Bautista, who previously backstopped the iconic LJay Gonzales during his final years in the UAAP.
Bautista has embraced this bigger role early on, averaging a team-high 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in about 29 minutes of play after six games into Season 87. In leading the Tamaraws, the FEU-Diliman product is also top five in league-wide scoring as of writing.
“Ako, ginagawa ko lang ‘yung maitutulong ko sa team talaga, na gumagawa ako ng tama. Dun naman maguumpisa kasi kuya ako, ako ‘yung parang [role model] nila para susunod ‘yung mga rookies sakin. Para ‘di [sila] masyadong [mahirapan],” Bautista said after FEU’s breakthrough 66-65 win over Ateneo on Sunday.
Fittingly enough, it was Bautista steering the Tams past Ateneo. Despite struggling for most of the game, the former Baby Tam took over in the final minutes, scoring 14 of FEU’s last 26 points in the tight-knit contest.
Eight of these came in overtime, which was a mid-range shooting clinic from Bautista as he came up clutch for the Tamaraws.
“Sinabi ko lang sa sarili ko na gumawa lang ako ng tama. Kasi alam kong i-reward ako sa huli, which is yun nga, na-reward ako. Tsaka yun lang, naging composed lang, at ginawa ko lang yung trabaho ko sa loob ng court,” he reflected after his 18-point and five-rebound outing against the Blue Eagles.
FEU also did some extra shooting before the Ateneo game, he said.
“Actually, nag-shootaround pa kami kaninang umaga [on Sunday]. Kasi ‘yun ‘yung gusto ni Coach Sean eh, gusto niya samin, sanayin na namin na mag-shootaround bago ‘yung training kasi sobrang laking tulong which is lumabas ngayong laro. Nagbunga ‘yung pagod namin sa trainings.”
It’s worth noting that Jorick Bautista has come off the FEU bench in four out of their six Season 87 outings. Bautista last started against NU last September 14 – FEU’s second game for the season.
In a prior interview, Chambers explained the reason behind Bautista’s benching.
“I was very pleased with him because we asked him to come off the bench [against UE] so we can have more scoring off the bench. He took the lead role and then we also played him a little bit more at the point…And, I thought having him come off the bench gave him a chance to kind of see the game a little bit more too,” Chambers told The GAME after FEU’s 51-56 loss to UE, also Bautista’s first game off the bench.
The guard himself doesn’t seem to mind. After all, he’s remained a steady contributor to the Tams, which matters the most at the end of the day.
“Walang problema ‘yon as long as nakakapag-contribute ako sa team. Walang kaso sakin ‘yun whether off the bench or starter man ako,” said Bautista, who will be guiding the likes of Janrey Pasaol and Veejay Pre throughout the season.
‘We just come back the next day’
FEU had actually come off a string of winnable games prior to beating Ateneo. They came close to upsetting La Salle, while they crumbled early on against NU and UE in the endgame.
For Bauitsta, these became the foundations for their breakthrough. FEU’s potential to compete is already there, and it’s just a matter of keeping their foot on the gas until the final buzzer.
“Siguro ‘yung mga lesson namin like last game, kasi ganoon na eh, minsan nakakalamang na kami…pero ginawa namin is like nag recompose and nagbunga naman siya this laro namin [against Ateneo],” he said.
Chambers, meanwhile, lauded the Filipino trait of making bawi in line with their situation.
“I think that’s one of the most beautiful characteristics of the Filipino people…is that you go through a tough loss that we did and — what’s the word? — bawi. And we just come back the next day and get back to work,” the first-time head coach said.
“And I think one of the beautiful things too about our kids are…because I think we have nine freshmen on the roster right now? So we have nine rookies and they’re like ‘hey, we’re playing basketball’, they’re having the time of their life.”
Banner image courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.