INQUIRER Sports

IT’S EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY FAR Eastern U coach Glenn Capacio moved ace Mark Barroca from the point to shooting guard this season as the Tamaraws vie for the championship in the 72nd UAAP season.

Showing remarkable improvement, Barroca has morphed into a scoring machine, significantly extending his perimeter game while sharpening his skills in creating off the dribble.

The other reason: The potential shown by rookie playmaker Ryan Roose Garcia.

Capacio has anointed Garcia as his starting point guard, forming an explosive combination with Barroca, who is expected to score more rather than become a feeder. Which has been his primary role in his first two years with the Tamaraws.

“He’s good and he’s very experienced for a rookie,” Capacio said of the fleet-footed Garcia, who spent his first two years with the Tamaraws’ B squad.

The Zamboanga native, who had a stint with the RP Youth team and was named Most Valuable Player of the FilOil Flying V Pre-season MVP Cup ruled by the Tamaraws, adds depth to an already formidable FEU roster, which boasts of three members of the national developmental pool—Barroca, JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos.

“We have a balanced team,” said Capacio. “I’m happy with the composition of the team. We are more mature and more prepared for battle. We may be the favorites but we have to show that on the court.”

The Tamaraws have eight rookies, including Cameroonian Hippolyte Noundou, and they will look to newly installed skipper Cawaling and 6-foot-6 Ramos for leadership in their bid to unseat defending champion Ateneo.

“They showed big improvement,” said Capacio of the national pool players. “I’m hoping their experience with the national team will make them better team leaders in FEU.”

Noundou, Capacio said, is “a steady and a good reliever for Ramos.”

Capacio feels FEU is ripe to win this season.

“It’s harvest time,” he said. “This is already the third year of our rebuilding program.”