1 week Ago
What can we say — it comes with the name. Kobe Brian Tabuga, whose name was inspired by none other than the late basketball great Kobe Bryant, is proving he too can be pretty good at what he does as he emerged as one of the key players for the reigning four-time NCAA men's volleyball champion Perpetual ALTAs. Tabuga shared that his father named him after the basketball legend, who cemented his legacy by leading the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles, winning one MVP, and earning two Finals MVP honors.
"Kasi idol ni Papa ko si Kobe Bryant pero ako po ay Brian, medyo iniba po," the third-year opposite hitter told GMA News Online. [It's because my Papa's idol is Kobe Bryant but my name is Brian, it was changed a little.] But instead of basketball, Tabuga opted to pursue volleyball instead.
The high-flying 5-foot-11 spiker, though, said he tried playing basketball when he was younger. In fact, he even joined a number of small town leagues in his province Pangasinan. But it was in volleyball where he found his true passion.
"Grade 3 ako nag-try ako mag-basketball at naglalaro rin ako ng basketball sa mga liga. Nag-volleyball ako kasi siguro mas iwas sa injuries." he added.
[I was Grade 3 when I tried basketball and played in some leagues. I played volleyball because I guess I can avoid injuries a little more.] During one of his volleyball games in Tagaytay in 2021, Tabuga was seen by Rey Taneo, who is a former Perpetual standout and current member of their coaching staff.
Taneo eventually brought Tabuga to the squad, which is looking to cop its fifth straight title. "Sa paglalaro ko probinsya sa Pangasinan tsaka sa kakadayo ko mga liga. May nag-aya sa akin na maglaro sa Tagaytay tapos ayun, nakita ako ng coach ko na si Coach Rey.
Nakita niya ako maglaro tapos kinuha niya ako sa Perpetual." [It was in my games in the province, in Pangasinan and my visits to other league. Someone invited me to play in Tagaytay and there, I was seen by my coach, Coach Rey.
He saw me play and then he recruited me to play for Perpetual.] Fast forward to his third playing year, the 22-year-old spiker is now the ALTAs' second-leading scorer behind Jeff Marapoc. Tabuga is also the league's eighth best scorer with 166 points, while also emerging as the fourth and fifth-ranked player in spiking and blocking, respectively.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News.
