By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Former University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons legend JD Cagulangan didn’t need any adjustment period in his Korean Basketball League (KBL) debut after putting up a stellar all-around performance on January 11, 2025.
The calm and collected floor general turned heads in his very first game as an Asian import overseas, tallying seven points, nine assists, five steals, and four rebounds.
Despite the impressive numbers in 22 minutes of playing time, Cagulangan and the Suwon KT Sonicboom still lost at the hands of the Seoul Samsung Thunders, 63-78.
What captivated the Suwon KT coaching staff was his tremendous court vision, locating his open teammates while feeding his swingmen who were cutting inside the shaded lane.
Cagulangan led Suwon KT in assists despite entering the game off the bench and made his presence felt in the second quarter.
Although the point guard missed his first few attempts, he then made it up with an isolation steal that led to an open deuce in the fast break.
Once he got loose, Cagulangan began dissecting Seoul’s defense with his ability to penetrate and acted as a decoy as his shot-making threat created more opportunities for his front-court teammates.
It was midway through the second when Cagulangan weaved his offensive magic, scoring on a side-step floater over the out-stretched arms of Seoul’s import center.
His last highlight reel before the half ended was a suffocating defense on the opposition’s point guard that forced an eight-second violation.
Cagulangan barely played in the third and checked back in in the fourth, but Seoul’s lead already ballooned to double digits with eight minutes still remaining in the game.
The Filipino import continued to feed his teammates when they went off to the races but their comeback attempt fell short when Seoul countered back with a massive offensive run in the final four minutes of the game.
On the other hand, Justin Gutang, Cagulangan’s fellow Filipino import in the KBL, got the last laugh and delivered 11 points and four assists for the Samsung Thunders.
