Dylan Ababou grateful for second chance

Dylan Ababou. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

The adversities kept on coming—from season-ending injuries to hardly having any playing time—but those didn’t stop Dylan Ababou from getting back on his feet.

Ababou has had an ACL injury, an MCL, a torn calf muscle twice and a pulled hamstring in just a four-year span in the PBA.

And yet, he remained in high spirits.

“No one’s exempted from having to go through trials. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t goes through challenges and it just so happened that I was given this,” the Barako Bull forward told INQUIRER.net Sunday after the Energy continued their torrid play this conference with a win over the Globalport Batang Pier.

READ: PBA: Barako Bull maintains top seed, zaps Globalport

Not everyone, though, handled the tough situation the way Ababou did.

“I focused on the things I can control. When I was with Ginebra, I wasn’t really used a lot but I made sure that I would still be at the gym practicing hard. I also learned how to let go of the things that I don’t have any control over,” said Ababou. “And I know that eventually all my hard work and sacrifices will be rewarded.”

‘God has better plans’

The 28-year-old Ababou turned pro coming off a stint with the very first Gilas Pilipinas national team and a celebrated college career with one championship and an MVP award as a member of University of Santo Tomas.

READ: Dylan Ababou’s second chance with Barako Bull all for God

Ababou was drafted 10th overall in a deep draft class in 2011. He had a lot of potential given his size and length at 6-foot-3, the ability to play multiple positions and sweet outside touch.

But his career didn’t pan out the way he would’ve wanted it.

“The injuries happened and I just thought God has a better plan for me,” said the soft-spoken Ababou.

Then Ginebra traded him back to the same team which drafted him at the end of March and while most players would look at it as an end of a chapter, Ababou knew it was a fresh start for him.

“I looked at it as a blessing because I know that I will be able to help Barako Bull with my experience. And that’s my goal this conference to be help this team in any way I can.”

‘Very good teammate’

“He’s a very positive player and he’s been a very good teammate dating back to when we are teammates with Ginebra,” said Barako Bull guard Joseph Yeo. “He wasn’t even playing most of the time with Ginebra and still you don’t see him reacting in a negative way.”

Right away, Ababou showed flashes of his old game, scoring 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field in 25 minutes, in his first game with the Energy. Not bad, considering he played for only a total of 24 minutes in measly five games last conference for Ginebra, which traded him and James Forrester in exchange for a draft pick.

“I see very positive things about this team and what I like about this team is that no matter what happens, we focus on the next play. This team will go far.”

Ababou said his body is still not 100% but he hopes to be fully capable of moving comfortably on the court by next month. He also acknowledged his former Ginebra teammates Japeth Aguilar and Jayjay Helterbrand for guiding him through tough times.

“I’ve had a lot of injuries. Injuries that probably some of the players won’t be able to come back from. I’m just thankful that God has given me a second chance to play.” CFC