It may feel an eternity for some but more than a month has already passed since Allyn Bulanadi last stepped on the court for a Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) game on March 11, 2020. On that day, the Basilan Steel fumbled an opportunity to knock off the defending South Division champions Davao Occidental Tigers right in front of their raucous homecrowd at the Lamitan City Gym.
Instead, the do-or-die game three will head to Davao where Bulanadi and the Basilan Steel will need to endure a hostile crowd if they want to advance to the National Finals. As it stands, however, both the North and South Division Finals remain suspended since the entire island of Luzon was placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) by President Rodrigo Duterte to prevent the further spread of Covid-19.
Locked out somewhere in Metro Manila, Allyn is doing home workouts following the fitness programs recommended by his friends in order to maintain his physical fitness and condition. And if the barangay tanods are not on their posts, he also do some runs around the block.
Without playing basketball for a month now and with the ECQ extended until April 30, 2020, Bulanadi already misses playing in front of the Basileños because of their very warm support to their home team. As a testament to such strong support by the Basileños, Bulanadi recalled an instance when they were waiting for a ride in Basilan, a tricycle driver approached them and offered to give them a ride for free. The driver refused to accept any money so Bulanadi gave his "Basilan Steel" team shirt to the driver as a gesture of appreciation.
When Bulanadi reported for duty with the Basilan Steel after his collegiate team was eliminated by the eventual National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) season 95 champions Letran Knights, only a few Basileños recognized him. It seems only those who followed the NCAA know his name.
But after a sizzling debut in Basilan, Bulanadi's legend in the MPBL started. Fresh from the collegiate ranks, Bulanadi torched the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards with 22 points, including a baby dunk, on an efficient 62.5 shooting percentage. On top of that, he grabbed five (5) rebounds and two (2) assists.
His explosive performance made Bulanadi an instant crowd favorite for the Basileños who were deprived of wins in the previous season. It was therefore not surprising when Bulanadi's replica jerseys were sold out after the game.
Bulanadi did not expect to receive that level of adulation. He joined the Basilan Steel for a sole mission - play high-level basketball to help his team win. Without a doubt, Bulanadi lived up to the hype and he is thankful for the solid support from the Basileños.
If you were one of those who dismissed Bulanadi's explosive debut as a fluke since Nueva Ecija was a cellar dweller, Bulanadi definitely proved you all wrong. In all the games he played so far, the rookie immediately became the scoring leader for Basilan as he averaged 19.9 points on top of 1.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game.
With Bulanadi on the driver's seat, the Steel won eight (8) of the last ten (10) elimination games culminated by a 89-71 demolition of Parańaque Patriots last February 7, 2020. This propelled the team to the third (3rd) seed in the South Division playoff bracket.
Basilan then started the playoffs hot with a three (3) game winning streak higlighted by a 2-0 sweep of sixth-seeded Iloilo and a stunning 77-63 upset of powerhouse and second-seeded Bacoor Strikers. While Bacoor Strikers avenged their loss in their second meeting with Basilan, the latter relied again on Bulanadi who dropped a career-high 35 points including three (3) consecutive triples to carry the Steels into the South Division Finals.
At the level he is playing right now, it appears Bulanadi has smoothly adjusted to the pace and physicality of the MPBL which is obviously different from an NCAA game. It also helped a lot that Bulanadi was already familiar with many of his teammates including Jay Collado whom he teamed up with in the PBA D-league.
Bulanadi still has an unfinished business in the MPBL as the do-or-die game three (3) against the Davao Occidental Tigers is yet to be played. It could possibly be his last dance in the MPBL before he moves up to the PBA, but who knows. Maybe the kid from Davao can take Basilan Steel all the way to the promised land.
You can watch The Score with Allyn Bulanadi here.
Instead, the do-or-die game three will head to Davao where Bulanadi and the Basilan Steel will need to endure a hostile crowd if they want to advance to the National Finals. As it stands, however, both the North and South Division Finals remain suspended since the entire island of Luzon was placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) by President Rodrigo Duterte to prevent the further spread of Covid-19.
Locked out somewhere in Metro Manila, Allyn is doing home workouts following the fitness programs recommended by his friends in order to maintain his physical fitness and condition. And if the barangay tanods are not on their posts, he also do some runs around the block.
"Home workout lang kasi may mga nagbibigay naman sa akin ng program. Yun nga, workout lang tapos kapag pwede tumakbo, hanap ako ng pwedeng tatakbuhan, yung hindi hinaharang ng mga tanod kasi mahirap ngayon, Bulanadi said to Beau Belga in an interview."
Without playing basketball for a month now and with the ECQ extended until April 30, 2020, Bulanadi already misses playing in front of the Basileños because of their very warm support to their home team. As a testament to such strong support by the Basileños, Bulanadi recalled an instance when they were waiting for a ride in Basilan, a tricycle driver approached them and offered to give them a ride for free. The driver refused to accept any money so Bulanadi gave his "Basilan Steel" team shirt to the driver as a gesture of appreciation.
"Gusto namin maglaro sa Basilan eh, kasi yung mga tao dun talagang grabe ang init ng pagtanggap sayo. Grabe mga tao kahit saan kasi nga yung nangyari sa amin dun Kuya Beau, nagaabang kami ng masasakyan, yung tricycle. Eh pag nakita nila kami na naka Basilan shirt so sabi libre na lang yung pamasahe, ako na yung maghahatid sa inyo. Binigay na lang namin yung T-shirt kumbaga thank you. Grabe mga tao dun. Yun yung nakaka-miss sa Basilan, Bulanadi recalled."
When Bulanadi reported for duty with the Basilan Steel after his collegiate team was eliminated by the eventual National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) season 95 champions Letran Knights, only a few Basileños recognized him. It seems only those who followed the NCAA know his name.
But after a sizzling debut in Basilan, Bulanadi's legend in the MPBL started. Fresh from the collegiate ranks, Bulanadi torched the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards with 22 points, including a baby dunk, on an efficient 62.5 shooting percentage. On top of that, he grabbed five (5) rebounds and two (2) assists.
His explosive performance made Bulanadi an instant crowd favorite for the Basileños who were deprived of wins in the previous season. It was therefore not surprising when Bulanadi's replica jerseys were sold out after the game.
Bulanadi did not expect to receive that level of adulation. He joined the Basilan Steel for a sole mission - play high-level basketball to help his team win. Without a doubt, Bulanadi lived up to the hype and he is thankful for the solid support from the Basileños.
"Hindi ko talaga inexpect na ganun, lalo na yung home game namin nung unang game ko tapos unang home game sa lamitan...yung mga nakakakilala sa akin ay yung mga nanonood pa ng NCAA kasi kalagitnaan (ng season) na ako pumasok. So ayun, nung natapos ang laro tapos may mga bentang jerseys sina boss sa Phenom - jersey namin ni Palencia, Gabo tsaka yung sa akin. Yung mga taong nanoood sa game sabi sa akin, sino ba daw tong si number 19?. Sige na ok lang yun boss di tayo kilala, papakilala na lang tayo. Eh yun, after ng game di ko expect, sold out yung jerseys ko, mas nauna soldout jerseys ko kesa kay Gabo at Palencia."
If you were one of those who dismissed Bulanadi's explosive debut as a fluke since Nueva Ecija was a cellar dweller, Bulanadi definitely proved you all wrong. In all the games he played so far, the rookie immediately became the scoring leader for Basilan as he averaged 19.9 points on top of 1.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game.
With Bulanadi on the driver's seat, the Steel won eight (8) of the last ten (10) elimination games culminated by a 89-71 demolition of Parańaque Patriots last February 7, 2020. This propelled the team to the third (3rd) seed in the South Division playoff bracket.
Basilan then started the playoffs hot with a three (3) game winning streak higlighted by a 2-0 sweep of sixth-seeded Iloilo and a stunning 77-63 upset of powerhouse and second-seeded Bacoor Strikers. While Bacoor Strikers avenged their loss in their second meeting with Basilan, the latter relied again on Bulanadi who dropped a career-high 35 points including three (3) consecutive triples to carry the Steels into the South Division Finals.
At the level he is playing right now, it appears Bulanadi has smoothly adjusted to the pace and physicality of the MPBL which is obviously different from an NCAA game. It also helped a lot that Bulanadi was already familiar with many of his teammates including Jay Collado whom he teamed up with in the PBA D-league.
"Yung game sa MPBL, hindi ko akalain na ganun pala kasi sa NCAA puro takbuhan. Sa MPBL more on set plays tsaka mas physical ang laro. Syempre, mga nakakalaro ko mga ex-pro, yun nga, mas angat pa sayo. Tsaka yung experience nila, di hamak na mas mataas sayo."
Bulanadi still has an unfinished business in the MPBL as the do-or-die game three (3) against the Davao Occidental Tigers is yet to be played. It could possibly be his last dance in the MPBL before he moves up to the PBA, but who knows. Maybe the kid from Davao can take Basilan Steel all the way to the promised land.
You can watch The Score with Allyn Bulanadi here.
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