The University of Makati Junior Herons did not have the luxury of a long preseason.

When they entered the Enderun Colleges Gym for their Pinoyliga Juniors Cup Season 2 opener against the JRU Light Bombers, the new-look squad had been practicing together for only about a week. The school year had only recently begun, several new players had just arrived, and Coach Ryan Nabor was still beginning the work of turning a collection of holdovers and recruits into a cohesive team.

By the end of Sunday’s contest, however, the Junior Herons had already offered a glimpse of what that team might eventually become.

UMak absorbed JRU’s strongest punches, fell behind after the Light Bombers seized control of the middle quarters, and still dragged an established NCAA juniors program into a one-possession game before bowing, 83-80.

It was a defeat on the standings, but it was also an instructive opening chapter for a team whose identity is only beginning to take shape.

Pace Against Size

Before the game, Nabor said he wanted the Junior Herons to play at a run-and-gun pace and use their speed to challenge JRU’s larger front line.

The plan initially worked.

UMak played with energy and confidence during the opening period, moving the ball quickly, running whenever an opportunity presented itself, and taking the early lead. The Junior Herons were able to attack before JRU could fully establish its size and half-court defense.

The Light Bombers eventually found their footing.

JRU began applying greater defensive pressure, forcing live-ball turnovers and turning them into opportunities in the open floor. Once the Light Bombers created transition chances of their own, UMak could no longer rely on speed as its exclusive advantage. Jhonlord Cruz and Mharkie Navera leaked out on several fastbreak opportunities which allowed JRU to build a sizeable lead in the middle quarters of the game.

JRU also began imposing its length around the basket. Justin Santos protected the rim with five blocks and collected nine rebounds, while Cruz scored 16 points while using his height and athleticism to muscle his way to the basket. Mharkie Navera supplied the perimeter punch with 23 points as the Light Bombers gradually turned an early deficit into a double-digit advantage and appeared ready to put the game beyond reach.

But UMak never allowed the game to become a rout.

Galon Sparks the Comeback

Kent Galon supplied the shooting that brought the Junior Herons back.

Galon entered the game as a reserve but became UMak’s leading scorer, pouring in 19 points in just over 16 minutes. He knocked down five of his 11 attempts from beyond the arc, repeatedly punishing JRU whenever the Light Bombers gave him even a small window of space.

His fourth-quarter three-pointers, together with a string of splendid defensive stops by the Junior Herons, transformed what had appeared to be a comfortable JRU victory into a genuine contest.

Galon’s performance was not simply a matter of making difficult shots. His willingness to run into open spaces, prepare his feet early, and shoot without hesitation gave UMak the floor spacing it needed to stretch JRU’s defense. Once the Light Bombers were forced to honor the perimeter, opportunities began to appear elsewhere on the court.

That was where Aaron Clyde Nacion became particularly effective.

Nacion’s Value Beyond the Box Score

Nacion finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and four blocked shots while converting seven of his 12 field-goal attempts.

His larger value, however, was revealed in the way he operated as a screener.

Nacion repeatedly created problems for JRU through the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop. He could make contact with the on-ball defender, release toward the basket, or move into an open area where he could receive the return pass and finish. Rather than functioning only as a traditional interior target, he showed the mobility and touch required of a modern screening option.

When Galon began stretching the defense from the perimeter, the two gave UMak complementary sources of offense: Galon forced defenders to extend farther from the basket, while Nacion attacked the spaces that extension created.

Shaun Rei Severo also helped maintain order during the comeback, finishing with 10 points and a team-high five assists. Monico III Manlutac and Gilbert Garcia collected eight rebounds apiece, helping the smaller Junior Herons finish with a 37-34 advantage on the boards.

The Numbers Behind the Margin

The final statistics demonstrate both UMak’s potential and the areas that require immediate attention.

The Junior Herons shot 45.1 percent from the field, compared with JRU’s 38.7 percent. They made nine three-pointers to the Light Bombers’ seven, outrebounded JRU, and finished with eight blocked shots.

Yet JRU generated the game’s decisive advantages elsewhere.

The Light Bombers recorded 11 steals to UMak’s six and repeatedly converted defensive pressure into transition offense. JRU also attempted 29 free throws and made 18, while the Junior Herons went only 7-of-13 from the line.

That disparity accounted for 11 more made free throws in a game decided by three points.

For UMak, the lesson is relatively clear: the offensive talent is already present, but the Junior Herons must protect the ball more consistently and defend without allowing opponents to live at the foul line.

Those are correctable issues, particularly for a team that entered the competition with only a week of collective preparation.

Familiar Faces in a New Uniform

Although the Junior Herons are rebuilding their roster, several members of the team already possess an important layer of shared experience.

Nacion, Galon, Geoffrey Constantino, and Adrian Baylon previously played together for the St. John’s Wort Integrated School Stallions in Antipolo. They were part of the group that finished runner-up to San Beda University-Taytay during the 2025 qualifying campaign for the Palarong Pambansa.

They also shared the floor with Dairick Duterte, who later became the Finals MVP when CALABARZON won the 2026 Palarong Pambansa secondary boys’ championship.

For UMak, the presence of four players from that developmental environment is significant. Nacion, Galon, Baylon, and Constantino have been with the Junior Herons since the previous school year, giving the team a core that already understands one another’s tendencies. That existing chemistry may help explain why the Junior Herons were able to remain composed when the game appeared to be slipping away.

Nabor is now attempting to blend that returning Antipolo core with a wider recruiting class. Shaun Rei Severo arrived from the Marikina Shoemasters 16U program in the Junior MPBL, while Adolf Dorde came in from Zambales after drawing attention during the 2025 NBTC, particularly with his controversial second name. Bacolod also supplied two additions in Justin Troi Magbanua and Jovel Thomas Gonzales, further expanding UMak’s developmental base.

The Pinoyliga Juniors Cup is their first tournament together, making it a useful testing ground for an ambitious group of underdogs trying to measure itself against some of the country’s more recognizable high school programs. In that context, the narrow loss to JRU was less a finished evaluation than an early measure of how quickly the pieces can begin to connect.

Still Taking Shape

The Junior Herons were also without assistant coach Jerwin Gaco, who was in Europe with the PBA Motoclub during the tournament opener.

His eventual return should provide another experienced voice for a young team still learning how to deal with larger and more physically developed opponents.

Gaco’s absence should not be used to diminish the result or excuse the loss. Instead, it emphasizes that the version of UMak seen against JRU was not yet a finished product.

A Blueprint, Not a Consolation Prize

Coach Nabor is unlikely to be satisfied by a moral victory, nor should the Junior Herons be. They led early, allowed JRU to seize control, and placed themselves in a position where a late comeback became necessary.

But opening games are also about discovering which parts of a developing system can survive real competition.

Against JRU, UMak found several answers.

The Junior Herons can play with pace. They have a dangerous perimeter shooter in Galon, a versatile screening and scoring option in Nacion, and a returning group that already possesses an internal understanding of how to play together. Around that core, Severo, Dorde, Magbanua, Gonzales, and the rest of the new arrivals give UMak further developmental possibilities once the rotation becomes more settled.

JRU departed with the victory. UMak departed three points short, but with something equally useful for a young team at the beginning of its season: a visible blueprint for what it can become.