FEU's Comboy on key stops on Adamson's Manganti: ‘Bonus na lang ang block’

MANILA, Philippines -- In his fourth season in Far Eastern University (FEU), Wendel Comboy is slowly developing into a solid two-way player.

He played few minutes in his first year, and was used as a scoring option off the bench in the past two seasons. In Season 81, however, Comboy has become a leader for FEU on both ends of the floor.

He played perhaps his most complete game on Sunday against the erstwhile unbeaten Adamson University. The guard put up 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks, leading the Tamaraws to an 88-85 triumph in overtime.

• READ: FEU gives Adamson its first taste of defeat in UAAP 81

It was his work on the defensive end that drew the most attention, as Comboy was tasked with guarding Adamson’s top options in Jerrick Ahanmisi and Sean Manganti. He came up with a solid block on Manganti late in the fourth quarter, and did it again in the overtime period -- the guard soundly rejected a three-pointer from the taller Manganti with five seconds left, helping his team hold on to the win.

“Nagulat nga ako na naabot ko ‘yung bola,” Comboy said when asked of his blocks against Manganti. “Lalo na, si Sean Manganti pa ‘yun, ‘di ba?”

For Comboy, getting not one but two highlight reel blocks on Manganti was not the goal. He simply wanted to make life difficult for the Adamson veteran.

“Bonus na lang ang block,” he said. “Ang lagi sinasabi ni Coach Johnny (Abarrientos) ay ‘force to miss.’ Hindi mo naman sinabi na kailangan ay block. ‘Force to miss’ lang, not to the point na late ka mag-challenge, not to the point na maf-foul mo siya.”

This is the second straight game that Comboy has been praised for his work on the defensive end. In their 73-68 triumph over National University (NU) just last Wednesday, Comboy served as the primary defender for high-scoring NU rookie Dave Ildefonso.

This time around, he was informed by coach Olsen Racela that he would be guarding Adamson’s No. 1 options on offense.

“Siya mismo nag-sabi sa akin: ‘Wendel, assign kita kay Ahanmisi, and puwede ka rin pumunta kay Sean Manganti,’” he said.

“Ready na lang ako. Madami rin namang best defender sa team namin, ‘di lang naman ako,” he added.

Comboy is ready to keep on taking the challenge of being FEU’s designated stopper, even if it means sacrificing his scoring opportunities to some extent.

“Sa offense, ‘di ko naman ine-expect ‘yun,” he insists. “Dumadating na lang. ‘Yung talagang nagbibigay sa akin ng playing time, ‘yung sinasabi ni Coach O (Racela), na dumepensa muna ako. Saka darating ang opensa ko. Bonus na lang ‘yun.”

The Tamaraws improved to 4-2 with Sunday’s win, and ensured that no team will sweep this year’s elimination round. It was also FEU’s second straight victory since a shock 90-65 setback to University of the East last week.

“Lesson learned iyon sa amin,” Comboy said of their loss to the Red Warriors. “Hindi na iyon mauulit.”

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