Where's Arvie Bringas?

MANILA, Philippines -- The De La Salle Green Archers are off to a good start that no one has noticed the absence of last season’s promising rookie, big man Arvie Bringas.



A year ago, Bringas came to the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) fresh from leading the San Sebastian Staglets to a 4-peat championship in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) juniors.

The 6-foor-5 burly forward was a monster on court, and no one could stop him. He was included in the Mythical Team while leading the Staglets to a 12-0 sweep in the eliminations. He also won the Finals MVP when they swept the Letran Squires, 2-0, in the Finals.

There was Bringas, a kid with the potential to become the next dominant big man in the collegiate level.

Fast forward to this season and he is nowhere to be found on the UAAP hard court.

In a sudden twist of fate, the once promising basketball career of Bringas has turned to a screeching halt.

DLSU coach Dindo Pumaren confirmed during the UAAP Press launch 5 days before the season began that Bringas was dropped from the team due to academic deficiency.

With his academic standing and basketball career hanging in the balance, Bringas opted to bring his talent to another UAAP school.

Bringas, who was seated four rows behind the Tamaraws’ bench during FEU’s hard-earned win over the new-look NU Bulldogs last Saturday, confirmed that he is no longer and will no longer be part of the Animo team.

He said the decision to transfer was easy because his older brother Anthony is now playing for the Tamaraws. The older Bringas is also a transferee himself, from defending NCAA champion San Sebastian Stags.

For FEU, Bringas’ potential was too good to pass.

For most part of last year's UAAP season, the younger Bringas showed talent and potential.

In a double overtime win against UST in the first round last year, he scored a UAAP career-high 21 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

In the following game, in a hostile and tension-filled DLSU-ADMU rivalry game, he made a good impression by firing two triples en route to finishing 10 points and 4 boards in a losing effort.

After a season marred by DLSU’s failure to reach the Final 4, Bringas averaged 4.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 15.1 minutes. Double-up his minutes and he should give his team a double-double per game.

However, he will have to wait another year to make up for this lost season.

The bottom line is that both Bringas and DLSU have gone their separate ways amicably.

The Green Archers are rolling nice without him.

Bringas, on the hand, has to work doubly hard off the court to gain back his eligibility.

Then, the next step is to show up in the next pre-season armed with his A-game on the court and crack FEU’s solid rotation next season.

Alder Almo, ABS-CBN News