The Demolition Man was tasked to turn these new Bulldogs into basketball machines.
June Mar Fajardo was raw when he entered the PBA in 2011 before blossoming into arguably the most unstoppable force in the history of the league. One could even argue that the six-time MVP is the PBA GOAT.
By now, every JMF fan knows his origin story with the San Miguel Beermen. Legend Danny Ildefonso initially took the humble giant from Compostela, Cebu under his wing, and the Kraken turned out to be a basketball monster on his own when Lakay and SMB parted ways.
These days, Ildefonso is busy guiding young big men in the Converge FiberXers and the National University Bulldogs. And the Demolition Man has two more new recruits to hone after getting the commitment from 6-foot-7 Kurt Perciano and 6-foot-8 Drex delos Reyes.
NU coach Jeff Napa, who is known as the "Big Man Whisperer," is giving Ildefonso the reigns.
"Si Coach Danny ang bahala sa kanila. Tiwalang tiwala naman ako sa kanya na maturuan sila at sa kanila na matuto sa kanya," Napa said.
Perciano started 13 games in Nazareth School-NU's finals run in UAAP Season 85, averaging 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. Delos Reyes, on the other hand, will debut for the Bulldogs next season.
The two fresh legs will reinforce Bulldogs center Omar John and other big men Mike Malonzo, Jolo Manansala, and PJ Palacielo.
The Bulldogs are beefing up this offseason in hopes of building on their Final Four appearance last season. They entered the UAAP semifinals for the first time since 2015 with a 9-5 record before falling to eventual runner-up University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.