The UAAP is home to many rising sports stars, and one that has been gaining a lot of attention as of late is UP Fighting Maroons’ James Spencer.
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We’re currently approaching the tail end of season 85 of the UAAP’s men’s basketball tournament, and it’s been a ride. After UP made history in season 84 by ending Ateneo’s winning streak and taking home the championship, the UP Fighting Maroons are hoping to get that back-to-back win. And given their performance so far, they might just do that given how they have the most wins out of any team, so far. Helping UP reach this once-unprecedented goal is a team of strong players, and one player who has been making quite a bit of noise this season is James Spencer.
This isn’t the Filipino-Australian’s first time on the UAAP court, but as of late, he has been making many fans thanks to his impressive b-ball skills and charming looks.
As the UP Fighting Maroons look to secure that second championship win, here are some interesting tidbits that you may want to know about the point guard.
HE’S AN ARIES
James Spencer was born on March 22, 2000, which means the 22-year-old rang in the start of Aries season. Growing up in the land down under with an Australian dad and a Filipina mom, he eventually moved to the Philippines for college, further pursuing his basketball career.
HE’S TAKING UP SPORTS SCIENCE
Basketball isn’t the only thing James is focused on. He also spends his time on academics, currently taking up a Bachelor of Sport Science at UP Diliman. It’s safe to say then that sports is a major theme in James’ life.
HE HAD HIS BEST GAME OF HIS CAREER THIS SEASON
While James Spencer is a talented athlete, he always has room for improvement. As time goes on, he continues to get better at his craft. In fact, season 85 brought James the best game of his career so far. During UP’s match against FEU, James scored a career-high of 19 points, three rebounds, and one steal. All that and more helped contribute to what would become UP’s 10th win of the season. What made the impressive feat even better was that James’ mom was in the audience during the game.
HE GOT HIS ARM TATTOO IN MANILA
Aside from basketball, one of James Spencer’s defining traits is his tattoo that covers his entire right arm. The ink, which is a sleeve tribal tattoo, was done by local tattoo artist Neil Tanaleon at 55tinta. It’s a well-done tattoo and one that compliments him whether in his signature #3 jersey or streetwear fits.
HE’S BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR SONG ON TIKTOK
If you’ve been on TikTok as of late, you may have come across one, or multiple videos that fawn over James. In particular, the Fil-Aussie has been connected to the song Gangster’s Wife with videos of him and that audio going viral. TBH, we see it, and James himself is actually aware of the mini-trend and appreciates the love. He even met the girl that arguably started it all.
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