Former Cobra now Green Archer Ben Mbala not taking sides in PCCL best-of-three finals

When the hostilities between the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras and the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers start this Monday in Game One of the best-of-three finals series in the 2013 Philippine Collegiate Champions League, Cameroonian forward Ben Mbala will be keeping mum so as not to be caught in the crossfire.

Owing to his roots in SWU, where he led the Cobras to their only title in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) last year, and his current stead as a Green Archers Team B member while serving his residency, Mbala finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

“I am in between because I am half-blooded Cobra, half-blooded Archer,” said Mbala while on vacation in Cameroon.

After leading the Cobras over the University of the Visayas Green Lancers last season for their historic first championship, Mbala drew the spotlight on himself in the semifinals of last year’s PCCL, where he averaged 27 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.7 blocks. He eventually signed up to join the Archers camp, where he is currently red-shirting in order to be eligible in 2015.

Nevertheless, Mbala expressed his pride for his former squad and their achievement of putting Cebuano basketball on the map once again.

“I am proud of SWU because they are showing that basketball in Cebu is strong enough to compete against Manila’s teams. They are really making the Bisaya people proud of them. I am a proud player from Cebu. I will never forget where I first started,” added the former MVP of the Basketball Without Borders Africa camp.

But at the same time, Mbala also said that he was happy to see his current school keep its winning run going after capturing the UAAP crown earlier this year.

“On the other hand, I am very happy for my actual school DLSU because they are improving their game everyday and they are always getting better.”

That being said, Mbala mused that this time around, he’d rather be a basketball fan and appreciate it being played on the court rather than cheer for any particular side in this series. “I wish good luck to both teams but I can’t take a side. I will just appreciate the beauty of the game.”