MANILA, Philippines — During the recent send-off for pole vaulter EJ Obiena at Chiang Kai Shek College, school officials and alumni of the school rattled off the names of some of their most distinguished student-athletes.
And one of those mentioned was Fran Louie Yu.
Hearing and watching the 5-foot-10 Fran Yu receive a lot of props today from his fellow Blue Dragons as well as basketball observers as a top player and the most important player for the Letran Knights, I cannot help but be happy for him.
When I first saw him playing for the Chiang Kai Shek Blue Dragons in the Metro Manila Basketball League, Fran was this small and skinny point guard – well, he still is – who at first took a backseat to teammates JV Gallego, Meds Salim, Shannon Gagate, Jonas Tibayan, or even Maverick Chua.
He was just as feisty a player — one who needled opponents with his physical and rah rah play, yet when you leave him alone, he’d stick the jumper or three-pointer.
Then while attending practice of the University of the East Red Warriors in 2015, I saw Yu with the team. He grinned at me. He made their lineup.
He had flashes of potential, but UE was a mess (whether you believe the official excuse or not). Yu left and went to Trail International School in Thailand. His other teammates in UE also left en masse.
Then once more, Fran resurfaced in Letran with his UE teammate Bonbon Batiller. That was quite a story for that team of Knights, which ended San Beda’s reign. Theirs was a team of refugees and discards – Yu, Batiller, Allen Mina from NU and Larry Muyang from La Salle.
The next year, they added Rhenz Abando and Brent Paraiso from UST.
Digressing, Brent has made the finals with La Salle, UST and Letran. I’d say this guy can find a place in the PBA. He adapts quite well.
With Letran, Yu found his old self in Chiang Kai Shek – sure of himself, supremely confident, and playing with a feistiness and chip on his shoulder.
Heading into Friday’s match against Lyceum of the Philippines University, Fran has been averaging 12.4 points (only 0.4 points behind team leader Brent Paraiso), 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Last Season 97, the back-to-back title year, with other stars like Abando and Jeo Ambohot, Yu tallied 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals.
This year, he has improved on his scoring, rebounding and assist numbers, underscoring his importance to Letran.
Against LPU on Friday, Fran knocked down two clutch free throws with 15.1 seconds left and another with 12.1 to give Letran a 69-64 win. Those four free throw attempts were his first four all game long.
He finished with nine points, four rebounds, seven assists and two steals in helping his side to their seventh straight win.
While his former high school teammates have seen their respective careers stall or fall into anonymity, Yu’s star is soaring higher; three-peat for Letran or not.
His is a classic case of working hard and not giving up.
It would be interesting to see how far he goes. And we wish him well.