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| (Photo Credit: Leo Lopez, Fabilioh) |
Ten players stood inside the Blue Eagle Gym on a rainy Saturday afternoon, but fans in attendance were eagerly waiting for the explosion of one man. Jolo Mendoza was being hyped up as the next Kiefer Ravena. In a second-round match-up versus a young Adamson Baby Falcons team, the table was set for an eruption by the Season 77 Finals MVP.
The wait was excruciating. Jolo was seemingly picking his spots, choosing to pass the ball instead of pulling up unconsciously. The fans were starting to get bored. They wanted the scoring barrage they paid a ticket for. All of a sudden, a tall, lanky kid with frizzy hair galloped coast to coast, flew up high and attempted a dipsy-doo lay-up with ease. The referee blew his whistle to signal a foul. Fans jumped up, with their faces saying "OH SHIT WHO IS THAT GUY?", while the coaching staff of the Blue Eaglets' face screamed, "Bakit di mo na lang diniretso Mamu!!!!"
We all know Gian Mamuyac as the kid who blocked Steph Curry, and writers have jumped off that to talk about his defensive acumen. There's no doubt about it, Gian Mamuyac is a terrific defender. Saying it, again and again, would be like trying to convince people that Stephen Curry is a great shooter. There's no point in doing so. But before being widely recognized as a defensive stopper, Mamuyac was known as a high-flyer who did some crazy things in the Juniors Division.
There are different types of athletic, but for the sake of this piece, we'll categorize into two: monster athletic and graceful athletic (There are those who are a mix of both, but that's for another piece.) Monster athletes are those who dunk with absolute force. They possess hops AND strength. Examples of players who check off those traits are Ben Mbala and Thirdy Ravena. They will absolutely dunk over you.
On the other hand, there are athletes who showcase a ton of grace. Mamuyac is a great example of such. He isn't powerful, but he can glide through the air with ease. This in itself is already a useful skill. Being able to get past defenders with the sheer use of one's gliding ability makes for a ton of easy baskets, which in essence, should have made life easier for Mamuyac right? However, instead of just going straight for lay-ups, Mamuyac would normally bring down the ball first, then go up to complete the play. It's quite the eye candy, but the problem is, it isn't an efficient basketball play.
Gian Mamuyac was just that when he was in High School. Beyond his lack of bulk, immense length and defensive skill, he wasn't entirely efficient. A large part of this was his size, but his lack of development also played a key role in this. Beyond his driving game and occasional spot-ups, Mamuyac had trouble creating plays for others despite the attention he gets for his gliding ability alone. That's why when he came out of High School, he was never branded as someone who was ready for college. There was potential, but he was VERY raw. Work had to be done in order for him to even crack the line-up of the Blue Eagles.
Immediately after he graduated from High School, I'd see Mamuyac a lot hanging around the Moro Lorenzo Gym. Every time I'd stumble upon him, he'd be holding a protein shake bottle on his right hand. There was even this instance I saw him eating a bunch of boiled eggs a few minutes before practice. I asked him, "Naks protein ha!" He immediately replied, "Kailangan eh."
Mamuyac himself knew in order for him to perform in the collegiate division, he had to bulk up. However, other than just having to add the necessary muscle in order to survive college hoops, he also had to polish his skill set. That's why for his first year in college, he was assigned to Team Glory Be rather than play with Team A. Many wondered why that was the case, especially since there was hype surrounding him blocking Steph Curry. That's the beauty with Mamuyac though. He was willing to sacrifice bringing that hype to the UAAP, in exchange for greater things in the long run.
With Team Glory Be, Mamuyac was already placed in a set-up similar to that of Team A. It was a deep team with no go-to guy unlike years past. By playing with these talented players, he had the opportunity to develop his game beyond his high-flying antics. His teammates told me stories of how fast-break lay-ups weren't easy to execute because they were scared Mamuyac would somehow come out and block their shot. But beyond the defense and athleticism, he was able to polish his game, which resulted in an MVP award in the Milcu Got Skills Elite Challenge last year.
Come Season 80, Mamuyac was sloted into the Final 16 of the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Many projected this to be a developing year for Mamuyac since he still had kinks to work on his game. Instead, Tab has inserted him time and again to play the 1-2-3 positions beside Tyler Tio and Jolo Mendoza. He continues to play terrific defense, that's a given at this point. But more impressive with Mamuyac is how he's brought his developed game over to the college level.
Immediately after he graduated from High School, I'd see Mamuyac a lot hanging around the Moro Lorenzo Gym. Every time I'd stumble upon him, he'd be holding a protein shake bottle on his right hand. There was even this instance I saw him eating a bunch of boiled eggs a few minutes before practice. I asked him, "Naks protein ha!" He immediately replied, "Kailangan eh."
Mamuyac himself knew in order for him to perform in the collegiate division, he had to bulk up. However, other than just having to add the necessary muscle in order to survive college hoops, he also had to polish his skill set. That's why for his first year in college, he was assigned to Team Glory Be rather than play with Team A. Many wondered why that was the case, especially since there was hype surrounding him blocking Steph Curry. That's the beauty with Mamuyac though. He was willing to sacrifice bringing that hype to the UAAP, in exchange for greater things in the long run.
With Team Glory Be, Mamuyac was already placed in a set-up similar to that of Team A. It was a deep team with no go-to guy unlike years past. By playing with these talented players, he had the opportunity to develop his game beyond his high-flying antics. His teammates told me stories of how fast-break lay-ups weren't easy to execute because they were scared Mamuyac would somehow come out and block their shot. But beyond the defense and athleticism, he was able to polish his game, which resulted in an MVP award in the Milcu Got Skills Elite Challenge last year.
Come Season 80, Mamuyac was sloted into the Final 16 of the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Many projected this to be a developing year for Mamuyac since he still had kinks to work on his game. Instead, Tab has inserted him time and again to play the 1-2-3 positions beside Tyler Tio and Jolo Mendoza. He continues to play terrific defense, that's a given at this point. But more impressive with Mamuyac is how he's brought his developed game over to the college level.
Mamu has emerged as an effective initiator of the offense of a dribble drive set. He still has work to do when it comes to kicking it out to shooters (still has a tendency to have tunnel vision with that regard), but he's slowly mastered the art of dropping it down to bigs down low for easy buckets.
His overall control has improved as well. He's already being tasked to bring the ball down to initiate sets, and when driving to the hoop, he no longer brings it down to try and fish fouls. He just goes straight for the bucket, and it normally ends up in a made basket. It's a small detail of improvement. But it's something that captures how much Mamuyac has grown ever since he was a Blue Eaglet doing dipsy-doos against a hapless Adamson team.
I still see Mamuyac drink protein shakes when in Moro. Work still has to be done with his overall strength after all. The blocked shots and defensive stops have become second nature when watching Mamuyac play. Even though he's starting to figure it out, Gian Mamuyac will still continue to work on every aspect of his game. Maybe an improved pull-up game with better mechanics on his jumper? Less gambles? No matter. A Gian Mamuyac who finally figures everything out is going to be a terrifying sight to see, and teams should be ready.
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