By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Javi Gomez de Liaño quieted rumors of him joining the PBA draft. He will instead return to the UP Fighting Maroons and promises to bring a championship.
With stories circulating that he is under the scouting report of several PBA teams following an impressive Gilas Pilipinas campaign during the FIBA Manama bubble, de Liaño finally broke his silence and confirmed that he wants to spend his final playing year with the Maroons.
“It was honestly a hard decision because I was really thinking about it. There are no certainties if the UAAP will resume this June but one thing for sure, the PBA will still be there,” said the swingman scorer.
During the Manama bubble, both Juan and Javi GDL had stellar scoring nights and showed the entire staff that they can deliver even under the brightest lights of basketball.
The Fighting Maroon forward averaged an outstanding 14.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in their two games against the veteran Thai squad.
“So it’s a very big risk I have to take, especially now that I am with Gilas. I do not know where I will be in the future, but for this year, I want to lead UP to a championship in my last playing year,” Javi added.
After UAAP, Javi bared that he already made a commitment to Coach Charles Tiu in the MPBL after their season was completely scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After UP, I’ll also play for Coach Charles Tiu and Boss Bong in the MPBL. I believe coach Charles will also help me improve my game before heading to the 2022 PBA Draft,” shared Javi who is set to suit up for the Nueva Ecija squad once the green light is given for the MPBL.
