MATTHEW Daves is set to forego his final year with defending champion Ateneo.
Daves, 24, said he plans to turn pro after graduating this June after winning three titles with the Blue Eagles.
“We at Ateneo support our athlete’s decision if they want to turn professional. More than winning a championship, our program’s main goal is to turn student-athletes into professionals,” Ateneo team manager Epok Quimpo said.
“They will be always welcome to train with us in order to continue the process of becoming better players heading into the pro league,” he added as Daves joined Dave Ildefonso, naturalized Filipino center Ange Kouame, BJ Andrade, and Jacob Lao who ended their collegiate careers after the last UAAP cage wars.
The 6-foot-5 Daves committed to Ateneo in 2018 after graduating from Central Tech in Toronto.
He was part of the Eagles team that ruled the league in 2018, 2019, and 2022.
In his senior year, Daves normed 1.93 points and 1.13 rebounds in eight minutes of play.
But it was in the Big Dance against University of the Philippines where he made an impact for the wards of coach Tab Baldwin.
In Game 2, he scored six points in 15 minutes, while in the deciding Game 3, he tallied four markers and two boards.
“To the Ateneo community, I just want to say thank you for accepting and supporting me these last four years,” Daves, who already has obtained a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, said.
“Ateneo is my home, and I will never forget the memories we all made together.”
Quimpo hopes the next batch of Eagles will be able to carry on the legacy left by the squad’s graduating players.
“We will miss their veteran leadership,” he said. “But we are confident that the incoming recruits and our next seniors will not allow the team’s standards and pursuit of excellence to be diminished.”
