King Bulldog joins Hapee in D-League

MANILA, Philippines - Fresh from signing Ateneo’s Chris Newsome and La Salle’s Arnold Van Opstal, Hapee Toothpaste has added a champion player to its already star-studded roster, making the Dr. Cecilio Pedro-owned Lamoiyan franchise one of the teams to watch for in the upcoming Aspirants Cup of the PBA D-League.

Team manager Bernard Yang announced the other day that they have acquired the services of National University center Troy Rosario, whose presence further bolsters Hapee’s frontcourt rotation.

“We are glad that he picked Hapee to be his team in the PBA D-League,” said Yang. “We are also hoping that his championship experience in the record-breaking UAAP finals will rub off on his Hapee teammates.”

The 6-foot-7 Rosario played a key role in NU’s come-from-behind win over Far Eastern University in their best-of-three title series that ended the school’s 60-year title-drought.

Rosario isn’t promising anything to the management but vowed to give his best each game, knowing he needs to step up big in a team loaded with future PBA stars.

“Masaya po ako na nakapasok sa Hapee dahil may winning tradition sila and I want to be part of this proud team (I’m happy to be with Hapee which has a great winning tradition).”

Aside from Rosario, Opstal and Newsome, Hapee also boasts of former two-time UAAP MVP in Bobby Parks – also a former NU player – and newly crowned NCAA MVP Earl Thompson of University of Perpetual University.

Despite having a star player in every position, Hapee COO Joel Pedro downplayed their chances, saying the team still lacks chemistry needed to contend.

“We have big stars on our team but we need to translate their talents into one cohesive unit,” said the younger Pedro. “We have to have a chemistry to win.”

Also expected to deliver for Hapee are veteran Garvo Lanete, Kirk Long, San Beda’s Baser Amer, Ola Adeogun and Art dela Cruz.