Rhenz Abando became the latest Filipino standout to take his act overseas as the Letran star suits up for Anyang KGC in the Korean Basketball League.
The team announced the development in a social media post Thursday, July 28, as the NCAA Season 97 Most Valuable Player followed the footsteps of Gilas teammates and fellow collegiate stars SJ Belangel and RJ Abarrientos as well as Will Navarro.
"Looking forward to the performance of our new signing Rhenz Abando," the team captioned on a Facebook through a rough Google translation. "Your warm welcome and support is appreciated!"
This also meant that Abando, who made heads turn first as a Growling Tiger in the UAAP, will forego his final playing year with the Knights after leading the squad to a dominant title run.
Abando, who is essentially a one-and-done product of Letran, posted 15.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.4 blocks in Season 97.
Aside from the MVP plum, the 24-year-old La Union native cager also won the Rookie of the Year honor.
After his successful stint in the NCAA, Abando was called up to join Gilas Pilipinas and shortly made his national team debut in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup.
His future team Anyang, which was second-runner up in the 2021-22 KBL season, is also bracketed in Group A for the inaugural season of the East Asia Super League.