Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Diego Presingular truly is a student of the game.
When you watch the small-shifty point guard weave his way through defenders to spot up and hit a clutch shot – you'd think he was a proven veteran – but he's just a freshman.
In fact, Presingular only started playing point guard when he was in Grade 11.
"When I was younger, even though I was 5-foot-5 I was one of the taller players in my age group, so I'd often play at the power forward position," recalled Presingular, who grew up in Winnipeg and graduated from Central Canada prep school
"I knew eventually I was going to have to change my play style. I can remember during COVID, I worked on my ball handling all summer and my three-point shot and focused on strengthening my body and I tried to study the point guard position as much as possible."
Presingular said he watched a lot of Tik Tok videos by ex-pros who offered advice, and he was motivated to do what it took to become a standout point guard.
"Every day, I'd try to take as many shots as I could. The thing that helped me the most was going at game speed and doing drills in game situations and working on catch and shoot threes," said Presingular.
"I'd even rebound for myself. My dad and brother would help when they could, but it was mostly me (rebounding), and I think that really helped with conditioning, because you're working to push through things when you're tired."
Presingular will lead the Griffins into a weekend home series vs. Saskatchewan on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
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Despite his small stature (five-foot-10), Presingular had big dreams to play at the U SPORTS level, and he's certainly had an outstanding start to his freshman campaign.
Through 14 games, he's averaging 10.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists, while knocking down 39.3% from beyond the arc.
He started the season in the rotation but made his first career start on Nov. 16 against the Calgary Dinos, and he's been a virtual mainstay in the starting lineup ever since.
On Jan. 11 against Regina, he set a Griffins single-game rookie record with 27 points in an 84-69 win.
Diego Presingular with the scintillating slash to the hoop! @MacEwanGriffins have the lead down the stretch in the fourth quarter.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/7NmL94wCOJ
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Basketball Team (@Griffins_MBB) January 12, 2025
"With it being my first year, I was hoping as a backup I may earn a few starts, but to be able to start the rest of this year and play these (big) minutes ... it's been incredible," said Presingular.
"I've learned a lot from the guys on the team, and even though I'm a rookie, I feel like I've been able to play at a high level, and for me, the biggest thing is stay composed."
The Griffins coaches first met him when they stopped in to scout one of his games when they were playing at the University of Winnipeg Wesmen last year.
He met Griffins' assistant coach Brian Ortiz, and then head coach Mike Connolly, and he said he knew right away from their first few conversations that MacEwan was where he wanted to be.
"I knew all about their program, and for me, I wanted to help change the program. I knew I could be an impactful player for them," said Presingular.
The support the city of Winnipeg gives basketball teams and programs all over the city is impressive.
With Filipino heritage, Presingular said the support he's received from that community has been huge. Basketball is big in Filipino culture and it's the most popular sport in the Philippines.
"It's in our genes to play basketball. Having a professional team now, every (Winnipeg) Sea Bears game is packed. The city of Winnipeg loves basketball. They support it at all levels," said Presingular.
"We're hard workers, and we dedicate that to our sport. It's big (in the Philippines). We're all short, and we play with a lot of heart and grit, and everybody there is inspired by Kobe (Bryant) and Steph Curry, and we all try to mimic their games."
To show how much trust the coaches have in him, Diego Presingular is averaging 32.2 minutes/game in the month of January for the Griffins, even though he's a rookie (Jefferson Hagen photo).
If you were to write up a scouting report on Presingular, those are definitely traits that he has in his game.
Despite his small size, he isn't afraid to drive into the lane and look for contact. He's quick and fast, and he can get his shot off quickly.
"I play with grit, and I play hard on defence, and I think that's one of the big reasons why it's allowed me to play at this level," said Presingular.
Another trait you could put down on his scouting report is he plays calm under pressure, so it's fitting that Presingular is studying Criminal Studies and has set his sights set on becoming a 911 dispatcher – a career that demands you to be calm under pressure.
"I'll likely start out as a 911 operator and then I want to work my way up to being a dispatcher. My brother is in that category (line of work), and it's given me the inspiration to do the same," said Presingular.
The Griffins are looking to close out the regular season strong and attempt to clinch a playoff spot in the Canada West's Prairie Division.
Four of the Griffins' remaining regular season games are at home, while the other two are across the river against the University of Alberta Golden Bears, a team they're trying to chase down for a playoff spot – so the remaining games are crucial.
"We have a chance this weekend to really make up some ground if we can get a couple wins here at home," said Presingular.
"If we can go hard in practice and start strong this weekend, I really believe we can make some noise the rest of the season, and the playoffs are in our sights."
