BAYUGAN CITY, Agusan del Sur ― A 23-year-old sharpshooting playmaker from Davao City took center stage Thursday, June 26, in the opener of the cash-rich inter-collegiate basketball tournament here.
Jorick Kyle Bautista, a 5-foot-11 guard for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, may not be as flashy as his FEU predecessor and current PBA/Gilas stalwart Terence Romeo, but he possesses a similar winning attitude that can save games during crunch time.
Playing in Bayugan City for the first time, Bautista showed maturity and composure, delivering 26 points to lead the Tamaraws to a 90-80 victory over the Letran Knights.
In the day’s second game, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers stunned defending champion Adamson University Falcons, 71-59.
“He’s our man we can always rely him when the goings get tough. His three-point shooting is quite remarkable,” said PBA legend Sean Chambers, who now coaches the Tamaraws.
Chambers noted that Bautista and he were not yet with the team when it won the 2023 Bayugan City championship.
The Letran Knights, led by Deo Cuajao’s 27 markers, proved to be a strong defensive unit capable of scoring well when given the opportunity.
However, every time the Knights went on a scoring binge, Bautista emerged for long-range and short-range jumpers to mitigate the damage.
He continued to do so until the final fourth quarter, dousing cold water on every Letran uprising.
“Gamay dili man ‘ta six-footer, simple play jump shot na lang kon libre, unya drive panalagsa kon hawan,” the ever-humble Bautista later told Gold Star Daily.
Bautista was discovered by FEU scouts while playing in the Jr. NBA and the Davao Youth Basketball League in 2015, where he was named MVP.
He has two more years left to play with FEU in the UAAP and, like Romeo, whose dribbling skills he admires, Bautista dreams of playing in the PBA one day.
