Clark Daniel Oliver Bautista :)

Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Bautista is 'emerging Negrense UAAP talent'
By Henry C. Villalva

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas rookie point guard Clark Bautista of Bacolod City is seen as one of several new young talents in the annual University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men's basketball competition and his emerging stardom may usher in another era of Negrense dominance in Manila's varsity basketball wars.


This was pointed out by veteran sports writer Eddie Alinea, president of the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines (Scoop).

Bautista, son of former West Negros College Mustang point guard Tata Bautista, hit the sports headlines last week when he played heroics for the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers in their 88-77 demolition of hapless National University Bulldogs at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

"Bautista's impact to UST and the league was evident even before he played his first game for the Tigers as he was being eyed by several top schools after he graduated from high school together with another Bacolod talent, John Michael Noble, who now plays for the University of the East Warriors," Alinea said.

Bautista, who played high school ball with Benedictine International School, tallied 18 points against NU last Thursday as he combined with Francis Allera for a crucial 20-9 spurt in the last seven minutes for the Tigers' victory.

The freshman Commerce student converted nine straight points on treys in the second period against NU as the wards of former pro Pido Jarencio posted a 35-30 edge en route to the win.

Jarencio describes Bautista as "a skillful ball-handler who has a natural feel for the game," and Alinea said "the coming of age of this new breed of talents from Bacolod" reminds him of the era when ex-pros Mike Mustre and Genesis Sasuman led the Letran Knights in the NCAA and Bong Ravena was starring for the UE Warriors in the UAAP.

"With the exit of the likes of Jeff Chan from FEU, it won't be surprising at all if young rookies like Bautista and (John Michael) Noble eventually become the next Negrense stars in the Manila varsity scene," Alinea told Sun.Star Bacolod.

Noble was a former varsity standout of the WNU high school.

Told of Bautista's feat, Negros Basketball Association (NBA) president Oscar 'Dodong' Bascon said: "I'm happy that new generation Negrense players like Clark Bautista are making good in the UAAP and I certainly hope many more will follow his footsteps."

For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod.

(August 6, 2008 issue)