Ateneo’s Al-Hussaini comes of age

By Jonas Terrado - Manila Bulletin - September 10, 2008

The time has come for Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Ateneo’s six-foot-four center.

After playing second fiddle to the likes of Doug Kramer and Ford Arao in his first three seasons, Al-Hussaini rose to become the Blue Eagles’ top performer and strong candidate for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

His strong performance helped the Eagles top the eliminations in the UAAP basketball tournament with a 13-1 win-loss record.

Al-Hussaini currently trails University of Santo Tomas’ Jervy Cruz in the statistical points’ race with an average of 71.1429, almost four points behind the 75.0714 points Cruz amassed.

Appearing in all 14 games of the double-round elims, Al-Hussaini averaged 18 points a game, second to Cruz in that category, along with 9.6 rebounds, third in the league.

Winning the MVP, however, is not Al-Hussaini’s priority.

"Sa akin naman hindi ko iniisip ang manalo ng MVP," he said. "Basta ang importante ay yung makapagchampion kami kasi noong high school ako hindi ako nakapagchampion gusto ko naman sa college, kung may award na dumating bonus na yun."

Ateneo coach Norman Black believes that Al-Hussaini has a strong chance to garner the MVP title, although he concedes that Jervy Cruz of University of Santo Tomas would be a tough obstacle to overcome.

"I think he has played enough to garner to award but Jervy Cruz is a tough competition," said Black.

Before suiting up for the Eagles, Al-Hussaini honed his skills in the NCAA junior tournament where he played for the Philippine Christian University.

PCU, however, did not come close to challenge the supremacy of the San Beda Red Cubs.

In his first three UAAP seasons, Al-Hussaini normed just 6.1 points and five rebounds in 32 games.

This season, however, Al-Hussaini blossomed into Ateneo’s biggest scoring threat.

Against University of the East, Al-Hussaini nailed 18 points and 17 as the Eagles trounced the Warriors, 64-58.

"I played a bad game the previous game so sinabi sa akin ni coach na kailangan kumuha ako ng offensive rebounds to pass the ball so I pushed myself more.

"Ginawa ko lang yung sinabi ni coach kasi I played a bad game so I pushed myself more kaya kailangan ko grab ng offensive rebounds and pass the ball," he said after that game.

His most notable performance came on July 31 when he dropped 33 points, the most by any player this season, and grabbed 20 rebounds last July 31.

But ironically, the Eagles lost, 72-66, to Far Eastern University for the team’s only defeat.
While Ateneo is a strong candidate to win the crown, the task is not yet over for the team as they will meet UE in the Final Four.

Although the Red Warriors are ranked fourth, Al-Hussaini doesn’t count them out.

"Sa Final Four, iba na yung way of playing," said Al-Hussaini. "Yung UE gustong makaisa sa amin. Kami ayaw naming paabot pa sa ganun so feeling namin yung game against them ay magiging intense at more of a defensive game."