Marina Avelino, 18-year-old freshman from the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, will serve as the Growling Tigers’ courtside reporter for the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament, announced on Sept. 28, Wednesday morning.

In the first in-person press conference of the men’s basketball tournament, Avelino affirmed that the Thomasian community can expect her to deliver a full inside scoop and ‘the little things’ about the Tigers.

“They can expect to get inside scoop; the little things that they didn’t know they wanna know, I’m gonna give it to them [Thomasians],” Avelino said in an interview with TomasinoWeb.

Being the youngest out of all the auditionees, Avelino believed that her genuineness and beliefs separated her from others eyeing for the same role.

Despite the lack of credentials, she added that the screening committee saw her intentions to deliver relevant information that would make her a great correspondent.

“And without credential wise, I’m not at par, but the team saw how genuine I was and how my intentions were correct,” she said.

Heading into Season 85, Avelino viewed the team as her ‘kuyas’, and the funny and welcoming interactions in and out of practice by them made Avelino feel at home.

“I kind of like feel that they treat me as their little sister, given that they are much older than me,” she said.

Avelino will make her broadcasting debut on Saturday, Oct. 1, as the Growling Tigers open their campaign against this season’s host, the Adamson Soaring Falcons.