Johnsherick Estrada leading St. Clare’s charge in PBA D-League

St. Clare guard Johnsherick Estrada. –PBA IMAGES

Adalem Construction-St. Clare Saints will be to be put on the test against UAAP semifinalist EcoOil De La Salle in the semifinals of the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup and they will be led by a familiar name in Johnsherick Estrada.

The six-foot guard was set to join the University of Santo Tomas last 2020 after making a name for himself with St. Clare’s high school team but the pandemic halted his opportunity to play for the Tigers.

The Pangasinan native then moved back to St. Clare as the new leader of the squad due to Joshua Fontanilla’s departure.

“He was actually enrolled in UST in 2019 but the following year, he was cut from the lineup… So now he’s in St. Clare and he became Rookie-MVP,” St. Clare head coach Jinino Manansala said.

Estrada also fueled St. Clare to their fifth straight championship against Enderun in this year’s Naascu finals with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The shifty floor general is bringing his NAASCU prowess to the PBA D-League, averaging 17.5 points per game in the Cup’s quarterfinals.

The soft-spoken Estrada understood that his move from UST to St. Clare meant he had to work on his game more.

“When I moved from UST to St. Clare I knew I had to work on my confidence [with the game]. We should continue to train harder,” Estrada said aftertheir 90-87 win over UST on Wednesday.

The Saints and Green Archers begin their semifinals series on Friday, 11 a.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.