Happy Birthday, Ruel Buenaventura ( April 1 )

Happy Birthday, Ruel Buenaventura

Source : Scoreboard JANUARY 25-31, 1999/PBA HardCourt/UAAP Program (PBA Archives Collections)

1999 PBA Rookie Draft 6th overall pick
Pop Cola 800’s slotman 
UE Red Warrior

Ruel Buenaventura, who's more known as "Barok" because of his hairstyle, was one of the major factors behind the UE Warriors' spirited campaign in the last UAAP season. Moreover, he is certainly a key factor behind Dr. J/Ana Dispenser's championship appearance versus Tanduay Rhum in the ongoing 2nd Yakult-PBL Centennial Cup finals. Born April 21, 1977, the youngest among the four children of NAWASA employee Paquito and Luisa Buenaventura of Morong, Rizal had spent most his late afternoons playing basketball with his friends. He was recruited to fill up the core of the Rizal Polytechnic College high school team but he never thought he'll go this far. It was in an inter-town tournament in Rizal where coach Orly Castelo saw his potentials. Castelo brought him to his brother-in-law Francis Rodriguez who was then tapped to mentor UE in 1994. He was placed in the reserve list in 1995 but eventually turned out as UE's biggest surprise in the 1996 UAAP season. "Si coach Orly talaga ang nakadiscover sa akin. Nilapitan niya ako at gusto niyang ma-develop pa ako lalo. Hindi ko na pinakawalan ang pagkakataon." "Si coach Francis naman, magaling magturo. Sa kanya ko natutunan ang basics at talagang hinasa niya ako. Natutuwa ako't maraming nakapansin sa akin. Doon ko na-realize na may future pala ako dito. Kaya naman lalo ko'ng pinagbutihan." Jimmy Mariano took over as coach in the following year and took time to train him more. His efforts proved fruitful as Ruel was named into the Mythical Five though UE only placed third. It was also in the same year when he was signed up by Dazz in the PBL. "Naging reliever lang ako nina Joel Dualan at Jovy Sese. Coach Junel Baculi put me to a big test, nakapasa naman ako kaya nakilala rin ako sa PBL." "Pero ang pinaka-break ko talaga ay sa Dr. J. Dito talaga ako nahasa nang husto. May katamaran kasi ako noon, but coach Leo Isaac is a good motivator and disciplinarian. Siya talaga ang nagtulak sa akin para lalong magpursige sa basketball." "Sa Dr. J kasi, walang star. Everybody has a role to play. Kung ano ang gusto nicoach Leo ay ginagawa namin. Kaya nga kami nakapasok sa finals." Actually, Ruel doesn't have plans yet of turning pro, feeling he's still too raw for big-time basketball. But the opportunity suddenly came when Pop Cola expressed interest in acquiring his ser ices. "Napakaganda ng Pasko ko, kaya hindi ko pinakawalan ang opportunity. Parang nanaginip ka, dumating sa iyo ang senyales. At heto, totoo pala lahat." "I just hope 1999 will be my banner year. Sana naman ay maging okey ang lahat para sa akin. Ruel has made himself available for the PBA draft on condition that he'll only play after this year's UAAP season.