The myth of Super Ababou mellowed when Rajko Toroman demoted Dylan to reserve status.
It's not as if he is the only ex-UAAP MVP who struggled under the Serbian coaching sensation.
*cough* Rabeh Al-Hussaini *cough*
Before his entry to the Smart-Gilas squad, Ababou is the University of Santo Tomas’ scoring machine. He was part of the UST squad that wrestled the title away from Ateneo’s JC Intal, Doug Kramer, and Macky Escalona – which was enough for me to root for the endeavors of Ababou, Jervy Cruz, Khasim Mirza, Japs Cuan, Francis Allera, Mark Canlas, Jun Cortez, and the others involved in that Pido Jarencio ensemble. Ababou then emerged from the shadows of Cruz when the behemoth graduated and Dylan became the Growling Tigers’ heart and soul. He caught his UAAP Most Valuable Player trophy when he and Mirza were UST’s fangs. However, the problem is that while Ababou has the size to contend at the fourth spot – he is not an inside presence. UST lost the UAAP title that season because there was no one to contend against the bigs of Ateneo, UE, and FEU. This problem haunted the squad until the entry of Cameroonian Karim Abdul.
When Ababou was relegated to the ninth spot at the 2011 PBA Draft, people felt Ababou’s stock has severely fallen. Well, if you compare him to RJ Jazul – he seems luckier. Jazul fell to the mid-second round of the 2010 PBA Draft because the former Letran Knight is too offensive-minded to play the point guard position and too small to play the shooting guard role. This also sucks for Jazul because his former Smart-Gilas and Letran tag team partner Rey Guevarra was selected as the third pick overall to the surprise of many. But while Jazul will have a shot for more minutes since he has joined former Smart-Gilas teammate Magi Sison at the Shopinas.com Clickers’ roster... Ababou will have to fight for his time against veterans Danny Seigle, Sunday Salvacion, Leo Avenido, and Ababou’s former UST teammate Allein Maliksi.
Maliksi was a mere backup to Ababou during his UST days but Maliksi spent his post-UST days honing his craft at the PBA D-League. Maliksi playing for the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems took the squad to the D-League finals. Despite failing to give the team the title, Maliksi ended up as the league’s first-ever MVP.
This is the reason why Maliksi was picked two places before Ababou. When it was Ginebra’s turn to pick, they were shocked that Ababou was still available but they resisted temptation and managed to stick with their original yearning which was Reil Cervantes.
During the 2011-12 PBA All-Filipino Cup’s first week, Ababou scored his first DNP.
That was enough to wake up Super Ababou.
I am just baffled as to why people can’t use Ababou. The guy will resort to everything just to be important. I saw him in the NBA All-Stars exhibition match doing the dirty work on the inside and making things happen for the squad. I saw him in the 2011 Jones Cup when he resisted sickness to administer the needed tools to make himself visible. I do not believe for a second that Junel Baculi had a game plan that had Dylan Ababou getting the scoring nod over Miller and Seigle. But with the inconsistency of Miller and the absence of Seigle, Baculi gave Ababou the chance to shine and he laid waste to the currently-struggling Ginebra squad. Ababou used his range to extend the defense and he was also helpful at the defensive end, especially in Barako Bull’s epic second-quarter run. Ginebra had no answer for him and I wonder if Ginebra is having second thoughts because they passed up an opportunity to snag him in the draft. He finished the ballgame with 20 points – the third 20-point game for a rookie this season after Paul Lee and Mac Baracael.
He then churned out the fourth 20-point rookie game after laying waste to the undermanned Talk N Text Tropang Texters. I believe his output is more impressive here than the Ginebra game because Willie Miller had his most explosive output in five conferences with 27 points and yet he again finished with 20. Mick Pennisi, the most consistent Barako Bull player this season at 36, had 18 points. Ababou managed to dislodge Sunday Salvacion from the minutes he had in his first game and he caused Leo Avenido to DNP the team’s third game.
While the verdict is in on whether or not Ababou’s scoring outpour will continue with a healthy Seigle in tow. Salvacion and Avenido are bound to reclaim their minutes. Plus Maliksi is also impressive in their games. But as of this moment, Super Ababou takes the cake! With the Fil-Am invasion, MBA acquisitions, and the collegiate superstars that came in and dominated the league, who was the last rookie to score consecutive 20 points in their first two games in the majors?
And yeah...
VIVA SANTO TOMAS!
I first made this blog on October 20, 2011
I thought Dylan Ababou would flourish in the PBA after a so-so showing in Smart-Gilas. Turns out, playing like a second-stringer for almost two years destroyed Ababou's scoring awesomeness.
Ababou went from team to team, group after group (SMC to MVP), and an expansion team after expansion team to no avail. Even reuniting with Pido Jarencio didn't help his cause.
The former UST Growling Tiger could have been the third or fourth pick of the 2009 or 2010 PBA Draft. Ababou would have been 22 or 23 at that point. He could have stayed in college for another year or made the jump with results perhaps better than his Smart-Gilas gig. Ababou started for the Rajko Toroman squad up until the inclusion of the naturalized player as well as the entries of both Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz.
Ababou is still playing but he should have had a better career.