Andrada gets feet wet in PBA, and fellow Lions just happy to ease him in
Magnolia rookie Yukien Andrada eased his way into the PBA, welcomed by products of his alma mater.
On Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, the sixth overall pick in the Draft finally debuted for the Hotshots, and it was a first game that didn’t exactly go Magnolia’s way after losing to TNT at the close of the Philippine Cup eliminations.
Expectations were high for Andrada, who joined Magnolia, where former Red Lions Peter Alfaro and Rome Dela Rosa also play—and are of big help in his transition to the pros.
Alfaro and Andrada have known each other well even before the latter’s first PBA game, having helped in San Beda’s NCAA Season 99 championship, while Dela Rosa played for the Mendiola-based squad years before and shares a bond with whoever wore the red-and-white.
“I didn’t even need to give him a pep talk,” Dela Rosa told the Inquirer after their loss. “I think Yuki just knew what to do in our system because he’s a very smart, high-IQ basketball player. Coming off a championship, we didn’t really have to say much to him.”
Fresh off winning the Season 101 title, Andrada had 12 points and nine rebounds in his debut, not bad numbers for someone picked so high in the rookie proceedings.
He had just one practice with the Hotshots, whom he joined after the squad got back home from Bahrain.
Dela Rosa knows that Andrada will get his footing in the pros sooner than expected. Never mind if he was 3-for-12 from the field against the Tropang 5G.
It’s just how they have been brought up at San Beda, as Lions always bounce back, like they did in the last NCAA season.
Foes now
“We have different coaches, of course, but we just always want to come in and prove ourselves right away,” Dela Rosa said. “I get goosebumps just thinking about it, and it’s a great thing.
“I’m just happy to see San Beda guys doing well in the league. It just goes to show what they’re capable of doing with the experience they’ve had in college,” he added.
Andrada acknowledged the help from his fellow Lions.
“They’re [Alfaro and Dela Rosa] a big help. In practice, they were the ones guiding me during training,” Andrada said. “Having [them] with me is a really big help.”
Aside from the Magnolia bench, the San Beda spirit spanned across the other side of the court in the Tropang 5G’s sidelines.
Helping Chot Reyes call the shots is Andrada’s former coach, Yuri Escueta, the same tactician Andrada and the Lions celebrated with a few weeks back.
What a difference a number of days can make as both figures returned to the mecca of Philippine basketball, except this time, they’re on different sides.
But he sees Escueta differently now. At least for that first game of his.
“No conversation at all before this game,” Andrada said. “We’re opponents now. All business.”
