Cansino turns disappointment into motivation en route to historic triple-double

It’s funny how one bad game could turn someone into a completely different person, like how rookie CJ Cansino put in a performance of a lifetime after a miserable outing in his previous game in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament.

Cansino looked helpless in University of Santo Tomas’ 75-70 loss to National University when he got subjected to Dave Ildefonso’s trickery in the fourth quarter.

That disappointment turned into an afterthought when the 20-year-old forward became the league’s first rookie in recent memory to record a triple-double and help UST put down University of the East 79-68.

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Cansino finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Growling Tigers’ fifth victory in 10 games and he said that his poor performance against the Bulldogs was what drove him to become better.

“After the game, I immediately watched the replay and I looked at my lapses and I told myself that I have to improve so that became extra motivation for me,” said Cansino in Filipino Sunday at Filoil Flying V Center.

Cansino finished with a respectable line of eight points, 18 rebounds, and five assists but his defensive breakdowns against fellow rookie Dave Ildefonso became bitter errors in an otherwise impressive game.

Ildefonso torched Cansino in the fourth quarter of the game that allowed the Bulldogs to sweep the season series against the Growling Tigers, but UST’s rookie was quick to erase the negative memory.

“I had a bad performance in our last game so I did my best for the UST community, for the coaches, because they’ve all sacrificed so much for us,” said Cansino who celebrated his birthday on Saturday.

As for historic stat line, Cansino said he wasn’t aware that he was on pace for a triple-double until UST assistant coach McJour Luib pointed out that he needed just one more assist to complete trifecta.

Cansino notched the triple-double with 51.1 seconds left when his bounce pass found the cutting Zach Huang for a layup that put the youngster’s line at 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists at that point.

“I never even thought of the triple-double but I was happy I was able to get it,” said Cansino.