By MARK REY MONTEJO
True friends are never apart.
That holds true for former University of the Philippine stars Terrence Fortea and Reyland Torres as they begin another chapter of their friendship – this time with the San Juan Knights in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
Their ‘moving up’ to the pro league was announced by the team on Tuesday, a move that will certainly boost its rooster for the coming season.
“Welcome to San Juan Knights family, Terrence Fortea and Reyland Torres,” the team wrote on its social media post. “Laban San Juan! UP UP and away.”
Having played together for five years with the Maroons, Fortea and Torres are expected to bring youthful exuberance to the Knights eager to end their title drought in the regional basketball tournament.
San Juan, which conquered MPBL in 2019 Datu Cup, came up short last season after bowing to the Pangasinan Heatwaves, 1-2, in their North Division semifinal clash.
Fortea and Torres, on the other hand, suffered a finals heartbreaker as the Fighting Maroons bowed to the Jacob Cortez-led La Salle Green Archers in the Season 87 Finals last December.
Their fellow “Maroon Five” members Harold Alarcon and Gerry Abadiano are also expected to suit up for San Juan, which was previously reported by Spin.ph and Tiebreaker Times.
The quartet of Fortea, Torres, Alarcon, and Fortea, along with Janjan Felicilda, had been a pivotal piece of the Diliman-based squad which they helped bag two championships in five straight finals appearances.
They were guided by long-time mentor Goldwin Monteverde, who also coached them during their glorious high school days at the National University Nazareth School – through the generosity of Eduard Tio. Among their star players then were Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo.
