When the going gets tough, FEU goes to RR Garcia

RR Garcia. INQUIRER file photo

We’ve seen him shoot the lights out, dish out that fancy pass, score on loads and lift his team past precarious stretches for the last three years in the UAAP. One thing we haven’t witnessed though is his temper.

That’s Ryan Roose Garcia, known as RR – Far Eastern University’s star guard with the gorgeous looking jumpshot and a calm and collected demeanor.

“I’ve never been in a fight [on the court],” said Garcia in Filipino. “Ako lagi ang taga-awat [I’ve always been the one who would prevent the fights].”

And even on a gut-wrenching shooting night, you won’t catch him lashing out on anyone – which happens a lot in the cutthroat scene of college ball.

“Most of the players are my friends. I don’t really get frustrated that much even if I couldn’t shoot against them,” said the third-year guard. “I only get pissed at the referees, sometimes.”

So it’s no suprise that the Tamaraws, who are seeking a different ending after a meltdown in last year’s finals, turn to level-headed Garcia when the going gets tough.

And this season, it’s happening more than often for FEU.

Finding themselves in an entirely different scenario, the Tamaraws are in a neck-and-neck race for a twice-to-beat edge with two other talented squads, but are also in danger of even sinking to the last spot in the final four.

“I think these losses will help us more,” said Garcia.

But even as the chance of Garcia chalking up a second MVP award is not a far off possibility – averaging around 15 points per game – he doesn’t want part of it unless it comes with the championship trophy.

“I wouldn’t be able to erase my being MVP, but it’s useless if we don’t win it this year,” shared Garcia.

But as big as his dreams are for his school, it was actually Garcia’s own doing that brought him to the doors of FEU.

“[I wasn’t scouted], I was just a walk-in. I tried out for so many other schools,” said Garcia, whose decision to play for the Tamaraws could be traced to where he first learned how to play ball – Zamboanga City.

“We got addicted to basketball at a young age [in our province.] Some of my teammates now, I already got to play with in high school that’s why I picked FEU,” he added.

But who would have thought that if not for the influence of his older brother, it’s a big-swinging tennis player instead of a hot-shooting two-guard we could be seeing today.

“I was supposed to play tennis. But it didn’t look good on me,” laughingly said Garcia, who learned how to shoot the hoops at the age of eight.

More than a decade after, Garcia could pass as one of the best guards in the UAAP – and that’s without a record of taking a swing at someone.

But make no mistake, if you provoke Garcia, he will strike back – maybe not with a closed fist, but with a cold-blooded trey right in your face. And if treys could kill, then Garcia would surely have killed a lot of his opponents on the court.