Cani's dad clarifies rookie's state at Ateneo

With transfer rumors swirling, Hubert Cani's dad says that they are blessed that Ateneo is giving the rookie good treatment. (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Jon-Jon Cani, the father of Ateneo freshman Hubert, expressed shock after a report claims that the latter is looking to transfer out from the school.

In an official statement on Thursday night, the elder Cani said, "I am making this statement since we are in shock why this write up came out," referring to an article by Spin.PH's Snow Badua saying that the family is looking to shift the younger Cani, a former RP Youth Team member, to another school.

Jon-Jon Cani then clarified, "...we are quite ashamed of what transpired. We do not have bigger heads now that we are with Ateneo since we owe the school a lot. We are lucky and blessed since they have been treating our son very well."

He, however, admitted that his son's morale is indeed low after playing for only a limited number of minutes in his rookie season as per Badua's report, although the Canis eventually saw it to be beneficial for the Blue Eagles, who have now won five straight games.

"Yes, our son's morale and self esteem is currently down and playing time is down. For the first four games, we really felt bad, but we realized that the guard rotation has been effective enough to win games and were honestly happy and supportive with how things are as part of the team," Jon-Jon Cani continued.

With the Blue Eagles having a stacked point guard roster featuring Hubert Cani, fellow Batang Gilas alumni Matt Nieto, Aaron Black, and Jerie Pingoy, and tall quarterback Adrian Wong, Cani was limited to only less than seven minutes of total playing time.

The elder Cani, however, also said that volleyball commentator Mozzy Ravena, the mother of Ateneo skipper Kiefer, expressed her full support on the rookie.

He revealed, "After the game last Sunday against La Salle, she gave us an inspirational message wherein she mentioned that she supports our son and to be patient with the minutes we are aspiring which we were all able to accept even prior to the said game."

He also expressed sadness as he and Hubert are being taken advantage by some to distract the team's recent success.

The elder Cani continued, "Maybe [the detractors are trying] to create road bumps in the swift system that Ateneo is running. [The] sad part is that we were targeted and used to destroy the current momentum that the team has.”

He ended his statement with an apology, saying, "I am really sorry for this confusion. Let us all continue to support Team Ateneo. One Big Fight!"

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