THE Sherbrooke Suns are pleased to announce the signing of combo guard, Savin Lopez for the 2018 BIG V season.
 
The 34-year old entered the BIG V system in 2013 as a mature age rookie for Pakenham and spent two years under Suns new coach Ryan Rogers is ready to show his talent after spending three years in exile.

In his debut season playing behind the league’s best backcourt pairing, Lopez was efficient in his 10 mins per game averaging 3.3pts at 38% with a larger role that he equipped himself at the business end of the season due to injuries.

By his own admission, Lopez wasn’t selling short the experience, “2013 was major learning curve for me. It was a challenge playing structured basketball but the team chemistry and success will always be remembered, even though we fell short in the playoffs.”

In his sophomore season he increased his productivity to 4.7ppg, 2.6rpg while shooting just shy of 40% in 13mins per game but once again was left unfulfilled this time missing out on the playoffs by percentage.

“We went on a run in the second half of the year but it all ended really abruptly which was hard as I felt everyone had more to give.”

As the 2015 season came around change was taking place at Pakenham with a new coach and significant roster turnover and for Lopez it just didn’t play out as he hoped, deciding to walk away after limited minutes in the opening six rounds.

“Although at the same club there was a much different feeling around the place and I was on the outer, so I took the chance to be at home with my family.”

Eager to show his worth, Lopez buckled down and returned in 2016 to make the roster but once again played sparingly and didn’t qualify with enough games to feature in the finals.

With more sweeping changes taking place at Pakenham prior to the 2017 season Lopez once again envisaged himself making an impact for the Warriors with a fresh face taking the coaching duties but this time with 37 career games under his belt and just 10 appearances in the preceding two years it wasn’t to be as he didn’t make the cut and took time to evaluate his future plans.

“I really lost my passion for basketball and the competitive side of me just wasn’t there.”

While he wasn’t afforded the opportunity to play the high level organised basketball he desired, it was through returning to local basketball each week with some old teammates and friends in his Filipino community that ignited the passion once more.

“When Ryan returned to Melbourne and mentioned that he was wanting to coach again I really hoped he would land somewhere and that we could reunite. I have developed my game since 2014 and feel comfortable in his system, so it was definitely great news when he got the job at Sherbrooke.”

Suns Head Coach, Ryan Rogers said the signing of Lopez signifies what this team is about.

"Sav is a really honest hard-working guy that plays with tremendous passion and is a story of persistence," Rogers said.

"He's the type of player that coaches want, teammates enjoy playing with and will always be happy for others success just as much as his own."

"He’s a lot more polished since I first coached him through his own dedication, so it’s time he gets an opportunity, but from there it’s up to him to show what he’s capable of."

Lopez who is a postie by day is ready to deliver on more playing opportunity at Sherbrooke.

“I really want to be one of the leaders on the team and help make the playoffs," Lopez said.

"Our team is multi-talented, you can put anyone in a number of positions and because of the structure there is no second guessing each other."

"It’s a learning experience with all the new faces but the chemistry is strong and it’s a bonus having played with guys like Jed and Eric in the past," he added.