Dylan Ababou collected all these accolades even before he first stepped foot in the PBA. He then concluded his collegiate career by bagging both the scoring crown and the MVP plum in It was a deviation from the usual inclusion of PBA players, primarily because the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas SBP wanted to create a program where players can commit all of their time to the national team and buy into the system that new head coach Rajko Toroman had in place.
Talented as they were at that time, that Gilas 1. Yung mga nakakalaban namin na international teams ay five to ten years na sila magkakasama. Add to that yung pressure na kailangan namin i-prove yung mga sarili namin. After two years with the Gilas 1. With all the credentials that he accumulated at that point, there was no doubt that Dylan was poised for stardom in the pros.
Up against the most popular PBA team in his first game as a rookie, Dylan showed poise and talent, two assets of an up-and-coming star. But starting in his second year in the league, Dylan went through multiple major injuries that crippled his PBA career. How did you end up choosing UST as your school? Dapat sa UP ako pupunta kasi mag-tryout na ako doon. Pero yung mga kasama ko noon sa national team puro San Beda and UST boys kaya namili na lang ako dun sa dalawang schools. Sila yung mga nakasama ko din sa RP-Youth noon.
At UST, you were under the tutelage of Coach Pido Jarencio, who local basketball fans know as a fiery and very loudspoken coach. Can you take us through how it feels to play for Coach Pido? Mahirap siya magpa-practice at lagi nagmumura at sumisigaw. Pero hindi siya namemersonal. Pagdating sa court, gagawin niya lahat para tumibay at tumapang ka. Pero kapag pinapagalitan ka niya, alam mo na hindi personal. Mararamdaman mo yung pagmamahal niya kasi gusto niya lang na ma-achieve mo yung best version mo.
Paglabas ng court, parang tatay na ulit siya. Kinakamusta niya yung pag-aaral namin at nililibre kami ng pagkain. Ramdam mo na tough love lang talaga. Kapag mismong sa laro na, grabe siya mag-motivate. Sobrang galing na motivator ni Coach Pido. In your illustrious UAAP career, who were the best players that you played against? Do you remember any heated moments between you and another opponent? Sobrang galing nila. Yung mga nakita ko naman na mahirap kalaban, una diyan si Joseph Yeo noong rookie year ko.
