The media room breaks into complete silence as three distinct figures enter, making their way to the press conference. Ben Mbala follows behind Jeron Teng and Aldin Ayo through the anticipating crowd of journalists. It is hard not to notice Mbala, with his tall frame and massive arms, towering over everyone else in the room. It has only been moments since their season opener against FEU, Mbala’s first UAAP game, and a glimpse of what he can bring to the table. As they take their seats, Teng looks at the box score and motions to Mbala with his fingers, “23”, indicating how many rebounds he recorded. Mbala shrugs as if it was nothing.
In this version of his Green Journal, the Cameroonian reflects on finally playing in the UAAP, growing up with his mother, donning the number 23, and being a complete player as told to The LaSallian.
Being a complete player
As a player I’m trying to be, as much as possible, complete. I want to be able to post up, face up, go for those defensive rebounds, and also be a pick-and-roll player. I want to have a little bit of everything. You never know what happens in case I go pro. They might ask me to probably play the 3 or 4 position, it depends, so I better be prepared and be able to do everything.
For me, I don’t know about you guys, LeBron James is the best player in the league ‘cause he can play all positions, he can play the 1, 2, 3, 4, [and] 5. Being able to play like him is really a gift. If someone can master all those positions, he’s really someone you should look up to because you could really learn a lot from him. He’s just not all about offense but also about defense. He can guard big guys and small guys, so really, it’s a must to learn from someone like LeBron.
That is why I chose number 23 for my jersey. People thought it was MJ [Michael Jordan], not that MJ’s not that good, but he’s not in my generation and I really don’t know a lot about him. I heard he did great stuff but I’m going with LeBron.
Biggest moments of the season so far
The biggest moment for me was my first game. Before the game, I kinda felt emotional and started crying a lot. That’s a big thing for me. When I looked around, I had a flashback of myself being on the side for years. It really made me emotional so it was a really big thing for me. It clicked in my mind that you shouldn’t be here and play soft. You’ve been out for three years so make the most out of it.
Another big moment for me was having my mom watch every game. Having my mom always there makes me feel great. I’m not going to lie. It’s my first time playing after three years, and my mom being there watching me, it feels like a plus. It feels like something makes me give my everything during every single game knowing my mom’s there watching. She didn’t know what I’ve been doing for years since coming to the Philippines and now that she’s here, she finally sees what I’m up to. So I cannot just give her an average performance so I’m always going out there and giving everything I have.
Since I started playing basketball, I went through a lot and she’s always been there for me, she’s always had my back and she always gives me the strength to push myself even when it’s very hard. She told me life won’t be easy, if you want something you have to go for it, so I learn things. Sometimes you have to learn through pains but that’s what our lives are made of, ups and downs, and I learned from it.
