Nnoruka steps up sans big guns

Nigerian center Francis Nnoruka is not shying away from taking over the leadership role left by University of the Philippines (UP) veterans who have already graduated after the Fighting Maroons’ runner-up finish last year.

In his final year for the maroon and white, Nnoruka has shown consistency in helping UP hurdle its first two games in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tournament.

Averaging a double-double as the Fighting Maroons moved up to solo lead, Nnoruka’s effort has not gone unnoticed as he earned the Collegiate Press Corps’ UAAP Player of the Week award for the period of 13 to 19 September.   

Nnoruka was impressive in the first week of hostilities before the weeklong break, averaging 15.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block.

He scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Fighting Maroons’ 92-85 win over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the opening-day rematch of last year’s Final Four protagonists.

Nnoruka followed it up with 12 points and 13 boards in the Fighting Maroons’ 94-75 rout of Ateneo de Manila University last Saturday to stay unscathed before the league took a break for the country’s participation in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Despite the early lead in the standings, Nnoruka believes the Fighting Maroons still have a long way to go to reach their goal.

“I’m excited we got the win but just got a lot to work on and you know a lot of stuff we need to improve so we’re gonna head back to the lab and get to work,” he said.

Nnoruka emphasized the need for them to step up and even raise the bar left by the “Maroon 5” — composed of Harold Alarcon, Janjan Felicilda, Reyland Torres, Terrence Fortea and Gerry Abadiano — higher this year.

“I believe the previous UP teams have a standard. So just pretty much continue where they left off and raise the standards higher,” the 6-foot-9 big man said.

Nnoruka bested for the weekly citation, deliberated by print and online media covering the beat, teammate Noy Remogat, UST’s Amiel Acido, National University’s Kenshin Padrones, Adamson University’s Mathew Montebon, De La Salle University’s Luis Pablo, and Ateneo’s Kieffer Alas. 

Mark Escarlote