UAAP: Forthsky Padrigao moves to UST Tigers after Ateneo exit

FILE–Forthsky Padrigao is moving to UST after his Ateneo departure. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Forthsky Padrigao has transferred to the University of Santo Tomas after his controversial exit from Ateneo. 

A month after the embattled Padrigao announced that his ineligible to play for the Blue Eagles in the UAAP Season 86 due to academic deficiencies, Fr. Rodel Cansancio, OP, the school’s athletic director, confirmed that the 21-year-old guard has found his new home in España.

“He came up to us and said he wants to have a second chance after everything that has happened to him. We’re a Catholic school and who are we to judge someone who wants reparation?” Cansancio said.

The UST athletic director said the 5-foot-11 court general has already enrolled in the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) and has attended practices of the Growling Tigers as he undergoes a one-year residency.

Padrigao was the runner-up in the UAAP Season 85 MVP race. He averaged 11.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.4 steals to earn his place in the Mythical Team and helped the Blue Eagles reclaim the men’s basketball championship.

He has sought guidance counseling and even asked to participate in the school’s outreach programs as a way for him to share what he learned from the slew of controversies that he found himself embroiled in recently.

“He has made an effort to prove that he regrets the things he had done and he wants to show how much he h’s learned from those mistakes. And UST is there to help him reform his ways especially since he’s still a kid who needs guidance,” Cansancio said.

“Obviously, he’s a talented player, but if he really wants to atone for his past mistakes, UST will be there to help him in this journey,” he added.

Padrigao has at least two more playing years with the Growling Tigers starting UAAP Season 87, but will still have to prove himself to coach Pido Jarencio.