“Malaking tulong yun sa amin kasi right now, we are looking for someone who will replace the production of Rey Suerte. Nakita naman natin yung binigay ni Rey sa school,” the UE head coach said with his assistant coach Jamike Jarin as they hope the athlete will boost their roster. 

“Actually, yun yung hinahanap ko sa team. Hopefully, CJ will be a good replacement,” Santiago added. 

As the Fil-Am guard already played three years for the St. Xavier University Cougars in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament, he will only be eligible for two playing seasons in the UAAP. 

Coach Santiago expects that Payawal, which will arrive this December, to bring a lot to the table despite that only videos were presented to him.

“Honestly, masasabi kong malaking tulong sa amin si CJ but hindi ko pa siya nakikita personally,” Santiago said. 

“But as far as the videos that were presented to me, he’s going to be a big addition sa team. Hopefully, maka-adapt siya sa system natin,” the UE head coach propounded. 

Payawal averaged 5.7 points per game and a season-best against Judson tallying 15 high points last January 29. 

The UE Red Warriors indeed have a lot of surprises in their pockets as they also brought in Brian Enriquez of William Woods University, Orin Catacutan of St. Clare, and Josiah Alcantara and Kyle Paranada to the squad.