Birthday Greetings to Jose Yturri ( Jan 05 )

Yturri was playing then in the 1982 Asian Youth championships here in Manila and except for his height, he was everything a basketball player is not supposed to be. He was slow, awkward, and could hardly jump, qualities that made him a crowd favorite whenever he was fielded, more so whenever he scored a basket. But that was two years ago. At pres sent, the same cager is there with the best of the country's basketball stars, in the PBA and so far he has been holding his own against the veterans. Jose Antonio Yturri y Torrijos, nicknamed Tonichi, is the name and he is the starting center of Northern Consolidated, the guest amateur team in the pro league, and presently is in the thick of the fight. in the semifinals after topping the elims. At 6'5, Tonichi is one of the tallest cagers in the NC line-up. But although he is his team's regular center, he only ranks second in rebounding to teammate Jeff Moore, the high-leaping power forward. Eliminations statistics showed Moore norming 15 caroms per game to Tonichi's 7.3 average though exposure-wise, Moore is far ahead at 37:03 minutes per game. while Tonichi sees action at an average. 26:33 minutes per game. In other departments, Tonichi in the 14 games he played, scored 6.3 points per game (51% field goal average, 77% free throw percentage), contributed 1.3 assists per game, and on the debit side, committed 1.1 error in every game. He had his best game against Crispa in the second round when he scored 18 points, mostly in the shaded area, and snared 11 rebounds. The 22-year old Tonichi described that game as his career high, and "probably my career best too," kidded the Tugue garao, Cagayan native. In fact, he is the first one to admit his shortcomings in the game, "sa talunan wala akong tatalunin siguro kahit sino sa PBA, mabagal ako sa depensa, hindi rin ako maaasahan sa dribble, ganon din s scoring. Wala akong natural talent sa game unlike others like Hector or Jeff" he said, adding that even in his wildest dreams, he never thought he could reach this far in his basketball career. What makes him an effective player is that in every game, he gives his best in all departments, he tries to rebound, defend, score, and assist to the best of his ability. As NC coach Ron Jacobs said, "that guy made himself a player through hard work and dedication, he has no natural talents but still he succeeded because of his determination. He exerts 100% effort in all his games and we are lucky to have him."