Ateneo’s winning culture to guide Ballungay’s PBA career
Former UAAP champion and Ateneo Blue Eagle Kai Ballungay believes his time under Tab Baldwin in Katipunan will guide him in the next stage of his basketball career as he turns pro and joins the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
“Coming from that background and moving into the professional ranks, that’s something that I want to step into: a team that’s willing to fight for every game [and] win games,” he told ALL-STAR Magazine in an exclusive interview during his Pro Day organized by Titan Management Group.
“[Coming from] playing for Coach Tab where you’re in the gym for hours at a time and really, your life is basketball, it’s an investment and that’s something that I want to take with me to the professional realm. I think that’s another thing, is just being a professional and I think that’s something that Coach Tab has been teaching me ever since I came to the Philippines, is how to be a professional, and I think that’s something that I’m going to bring to the PBA.”
Ballungay has been on the radar of PBA teams as one of the promising talents in the 2024 draft class since his days as a Blue Eagle. After playing a prominent role in Ateneo’s Finals comeback against UP in UAAP Season 85, he averaged a team-high 11.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists a contest the season after as one of the team’s leading men. His resume included a very impressive 18-point, 16-rebound performance against eventual champion DLSU in the first round which displayed his all-around repertoire.
“It’s been something that I’ve been working for since I was young [and] since I started my playing career,” Ballungay said about the next phase of his career that’s now right in front of him. “It’s been a long off-season but we’re ready to step into the professional life and just take it from there.”
Ballungay was one of the athletic standouts of the PBA Draft Combine. He measured at 6″6.25 feet and 103.4 KGs with an armspan of 80 feet and 104.6 inches in standing reach. His skill test displayed a 407 millisecond reaction time, 3.130 second sprint, 12.69 second lane agility, 37.4 inch standing vertical jump, and 39.4 inch running vertical jump.
Assuming current projections manifest into reality, he is expected to go in the higher half of the first round. He is in consideration for Blackwater’s second overall pick, according to head coach Jeff Cariaso. Ballungay spent the months leading up to the draft gaining an extra 10 to 15 pounds of muscle while transitioning his game from being a forward in Ateneo to more of a guard in the PBA.
“I’m trying to convert my game to the wing right now,” Ballungay explained. “So working on my handles, being able to play from the outside, outside in three-level, that’s something that a lot of teams I think would find value in, and something that’s hard to find here in the Philippines.”
During his Pro Day, Ballungay displayed abilities to shoot the basketball on the ball and off the catch. With the aid of skills trainer Patrick Tancioco, he rolled to the rim for dunks, popped out for long-range shots, displayed his step-back shooting ability, and finished at the rim in a variety of ways.
His goals are set, with him even admitting he wants to take home this season’s Rookie of the Year plum.
“Yeah, that’s always the mindset,” he explained. “[I’m] going in there, putting in my best. If Rookie of the Year is something that God has for me, [then] that’s what I’m tuning for.”
Watch the interview with Ballungay and check out some of his clips here:
