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For all his skill, Jolo Mendoza is still a work in progress

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#joloisgold, but he still has some things to work on. (Photo Credit: Leo Lopez, Fabilioh)

One September morning as I was chatting with one of my close basketball-watching friends, our conversation started to circle around Jolo Mendoza. When I first made mention of his name, he said something about Jolo which still sticks in my mind 'till this day.

"Ahh Jolo Mendoza. Shet. That kid was born to play."

I agreed with his sentiment. As our conversation rolled along, I made mention of some of the things which separates Jolo from his batch mates. Of course, his shooting is a given. His offensive wizardry was part of our conversation as well. But more importantly, it was his maturity and composure for a player his age which really impressed the both of us. Sadly, against the De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers, his maturity for the game wasn't exactly on display.

"I think I got a bit frustrated early, which was wrong for me as the veteran for a team," mentioned Jolo, a day after the loss to the Junior Archers. Even before the season, it was expected that Jolo would be one of the key cogs for the Blue Eaglets' road to a championship. Wait a minute, let me rephrase that. He would be the key cog for the Blue Eaglets' road to a championship. As deep as the Eaglets are, they're not the same without the presence of Jolo. Sadly, Jolo wasn't able to provide the leadership which the coaches expected from him. "I should've been more vocal and I should've been more positive on the court," the senior guard said.

Other than the mental side of things, the basketball side of things wasn't that kind for Jolo and the Blue Eaglets also. Jolo "only" scored 16 points on 6/16 shooting. He only took 4 attempts at the charity stripe, which showed that Jolo wasn't particularly aggressive during that game. He himself acknowledged this. "I lacked aggressiveness on both ends of the court yesterday. I didn't play like myself." In case you didn't know, Jolo's "real self" is a guy who will burn you and make you look ridiculous for even trying to defend him. That definitely wasn't the Jolo that played last Saturday. His disappointing performance was punctuated by an air ball that he attempted to try to salvage the Eaglets.

More than anything, however, it was his and the Blue Eaglets' effort which really disappointed Jolo when it came to their first game. Other than giving up 42 points against Aljun Melecio well.. that's all you have to know. They made one player score a whopping 42 points. Jolo knows Aljun is a great player though. "Aljun is a really great payer. I have major respect for him. We knew he could shoot, but I think we still didn't do so well when it came to defending him off screens and in our rotations defensively." Jolo himself knows that shutting Aljun down would have been impossible, but if the Eaglets' exerted a bit more effort, maybe they could have at least contained him.

The first game for the Blue Eaglets showed that for all the hype that he has received, Jolo Mendoza is still a work in progress. It's not just his aggressiveness in the offensive end which he needs to work on, but most importantly, it's the intangibles. During the last few minutes of the game, he would tell the point guard to hurry things up using hand signals. Maybe next time he can shout. Or at least give a menacing look that says "HOY BILISAN MO GUSTO KO MANALO TAYO." Jolo himself knows that he has to become more vocal as a leader.

"I should've been more vocal and I should've been more positive on the court. I take blame for the loss yesterday." - Jolo Mendoza

Maybe it can start with that. Jolo owning up to the team's losses. Eventually, we'll get to see the Jolo Mendoza we're accustomed to seeing. Aggressive, impossible to stop, but now with an added edge to his game which shows his leadership. Jolo is a work in progress, and that's alright. This message that he left for the Ateneo community is definitely a start when it comes to his growth as a leader.

"In behalf of the juniors team, I would like to apologize for the loss last Saturday. Please do not lose your faith on us. It was just our first game. We promise to bounce back in the upcoming games." - Jolo Mendoza 

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