Cebuano guard Senining to play for National University Bulldogs

ANOTHER Cebuano up-and-coming basketball talent is taking the leap to Manila’s big stage. After spending a season playing for the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars, speedy guard Rendell Senining said that he has decided to play for the National University Bulldogs.

This, the young man confirmed late Tuesday night in an exclusive interview, on the eve of his transfer to the UAAP powerhouse. According to Senining, the move represents an opportunity to further his career as the Bulldogs are bent on giving him the point guard reins immediately after serving his residency.

“They really wanted me to play for them and hopefully, I will be able to become a better basketball player there,” said Senining, a former Jr. NBA national team member.

And while the 5-foot-7 guard waits his turn, he is expected to be trained thoroughly as Senining bared that he will be sent to Australia for a rigorous three-month training program, in the same way that NU sent his former Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu teammate, and current Bulldog, Dave Wilson Yu, to Indianapolis last year.

The move was a long time coming for Senining who was heavily recruited by several UAAP and NCAA teams after he helped lead the Magis Eagles to the Cesafi juniors title in 2012. But while several of his contemporaries eventually headed to Manila, namely Arc Gabrielle Araw-Araw (University of Santo Tomas), Dawn Ochea (Adamson) and Paul Desiderio (University of the Philippines), Senining chose to stay home and play for the Jaguars, a team that was being managed by his father, the amiable sports patron, Raffy Senining.

However, the lure of playing under the UAAP spotlight proved too enticing to ignore as NU aggressively pursued him during the 2013 University Games held last month in Bacolod City.

Senining said he eventually chose NU because of its reserve team’s active stints in several offseason tournaments; something that Senining acknowledges will help him as he serves his residency. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio