FamilyMart-Enderun joins PBA D-League, former pros included in lineup

“Japanese convenience store brand FamilyMart and top-notch hospitality management and business administration school Enderun Colleges, team up to form the FamilyMart-Enderun basketball team and announced their official entry to the tournament for its 2019 Aspirants Cup.” (File Photo: Enderun Colleges/Facebook)

In the words of Enderun Head Coach Pipo Noundou about the announcement, “Years ago, our school president asked me if we can join the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) or the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) and I told him no because we don’t meet the requirements. What we can do is if we can get better, we can join the D-League.”

He added, “So every year, it was a goal for me to push the guys there. Now, we’re here,” being one of the 20 teams joining the competition this year. When talking about what they’re aiming for, Coach Pipo reported, “We joined to raise our level of competition. In the NAASCU, we lost to St. Clare in the Finals because we lacked D-League experience. What we want now is to get better through the D-League so that when we meet [St. Clare] again, we can be more competitive.”

Besides collegiate players, Enderun is including former PBA pros in their lineup, like Fonzo Gotladera, who was released by NLEX last year, and Marvin Hayes, who used to play for the college’s sister team Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters and currently plays for the Manila Stars in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). San Beda University skipper Joe Presbitero and former Titan star player Jan Vidal will be there as well.

“Their goal is to help make the team more competitive. More importantly, as veterans, this is their chance to mentor the younger players,” Titans team manager Paolo Bugia shared when talking about their veterans.