Hustle Basketball Skills Lab’s recent conquest in the Sinag Liga Asya B2001 division is a testament of the program’s efforts of raising talent from ground up.
Program founder and head coach John Ross dela Cruz said this tournament tested the mettle of the squad as they remained cohesive despite the plethora of talent available.
While the team was bannered by De La Salle University big man Luis Pablo and Letran College rookie Jonathan Manalili, it was Knights guard Peter Rosilio who shone the brightest in their 76-75 win over Pampanga Delta last week.
Rosilio bagged the Finals Most Valuable Player award after scoring 20 points, including the game-winning basket with 27 seconds left.
“One of the original plans of Hustle Basketball Skills Lab is to discover basketball players through our grassroots development program. Joining Sinag Liga Asya is a platform for us to test the mettle of the players who stayed with us despite various offers from different teams,” Dela Cruz said.
“Our journey in winning the championship was not easy. I had to deal with my players who came from different teams and backgrounds. I have to put everything in order and make sure that these players will be ready to play their role minus their egos.”
Also included in this championship squad are Kenji Duremdes of University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, Lorenzo Competente of Adamson University, and Deo Cuajao and Daniel Padilla of Letran.