Long before he made his NCAA men's basketball debut this year, William Sy had already been idolizing one of the league's products: former Arellano standout Jio Jalalon.
The 19-year-old Jose Rizal University rookie revealed that he had always looked up to the former Chief, saying he even tried to copy Jalalon's haircut in hopes to copy his hustle-type of game.
True enough, Sy proved he can be that player the Heavy Bombers need in their campaign this Season 98.
"Pumasok ako dito sa JRU, napapanood ko na talaga si Jio Jalalon. And dati umaabot ako sa point na ginagaya ko 'yung gupit niya eh," Sy told GMA News Online on Saturday when he helped steer JRU to a 97-74 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College.
"Pero siguro mas maganda na trabahuhin ko lang talaga."
Sy dropped 20 points in their rout of the hosts while also collecting five rebounds, three assists, and one steal to tow his team to its breakthrough victory in the season after they opened their bid with a 0-2 start.
Prior to that, Sy was averaging 4.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists as he played almost 26 minutes on the court. Against the Generals, Sy needed just 20 minutes to churn out his output.
And the budding cager said it's all about work ethic, a trait that the JRU coaching staff led by Louie Gonzales has been preaching to the players.
"'Yung kumpiyansa kasi tatrabahuhin mo 'yan para makuha mo eh. Sinasabi sa amin ng coaches na 'yung swerte lumalapit sa matiyaga kaya tinyaga lang namin," he added.
"The first thing we do is to play defense. Laging tumatatak sa akin na kung pipili kami, either tama or madali, lagi naming pipiliin is 'yung tama. 'Yun lang 'yung laging sinasabi sa akin ni coach Louie."
Sy is also hoping that his partnership with another JRU guard JL Delos Santos could bear fruit, much like the the tandem that Jalalon formed with Kent Salado back in their days in Arellano, which Sy hopes to emulate.
"Dahil pareho kami ng play style, we can play defense, we can score, and kumbaga energizer siya sa team niya eh," Sy said.
"Before talagang duo sila ni Kent Salado. Looking forward ako na magtuloy-tuloy 'yung tandem namin ni JL Delos Santos."
—JMB, GMA News
