Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/ INQUIRER.net
LUCENA — Winning the Obstacle Challenge is one thing, but staying on top is another.
That’s the reality Maverick Ahanmisi is facing as he braces for a challenging field to retain his crown here on Friday.
“It’s going to be a fun competition,” he said. “Obviously, I’ll try to win again, but I know it’s going to be tough. I got a lot of tough competitors who will try to beat me.”
The Rain or Shine sophomore shot to the top last year as he fended off his vaunted competition to snare the Obstacle crown.
This year, however, presents a different threat with guys like Stanley Pringle, Alex Cabagnot, and Sol Mercado hot on Ahanmisi’s tracks.
Given the depth of his opposition, the Fil-Nigerian playmaker knows that he has his work cut out for him.
“Every player here is hard to beat. They have their own skillset and they are hard to top,” he said.
Other players out to dislodge Ahanmisi from his throne are RJ Jazul, LA Revilla, Ed Daquioag, Emman Monfort, Kris Rosales, Abel Galliguez, Roi Sumang, and Mon Abundo.
Ahanmisi, though, is banking on his daily training to keep the title in his case.
“Every day in practice, what I do is what I work on my skills: dribbling, passing, shooting, especially as a guard. There’s nothing I really did to prepare for this. I’m just working my game every day in practice,” he said.
Aside from defending his Obstacle Challenge title, Ahanmisi will also look for a rare double as he replaced Chris Tiu in the Three-Point Shootout.
Though the task is daunting, all Ahanmisi could do is to believe in himself.
“I’m happy to be added,” he said. “I think I should fare well. I know I could shoot, but there’s a lot of shooters who I’ll be going up against, especially Terrence (Romeo) is defending his title so he’s going to come to win also.”