BELGA TO ALMAZAN: ‘THERE’S NO REASON TO BE DOWN’
On a night when Raymond Almazan made his PBA debut, it was one of the top Rain or Shine big men who showed the way for the reed-thin center on how it is done in the big leagues.
With the Letran Knight struggling in his first night out, Beau Belga made his mark to lead the Elasto Painters to a 94-89 win over the Meralco Bolts.
Belga stuffed the stat sheets as he had 20 points, seven boards, four dimes, two steals, and a rejection in his 20 minutes on the floor, compared to Almazan’s uneventful night, going scoreless in 14 minutes and incurring four fouls in the process.
But the burly veteran acknowledges that the Bataan native is still learning the ropes in the PBA.
“Natatakawan pa sya eh,” said Belga. “First game nya, so obviously, he’s excited. And as a professional, dumadaan kami dun.”
He adds, “It’s a learning curve for Raymond. There’s no reason para i-down nya yung sarili nya. There’s always room for improvement, so nasa sa kanya na lang kung ano gusto nyang gawin.”
Almazan flew to Davao for Rain or Shine’s first assignment last Sunday versus Alaska, but the rookie only watched from the sidelines. This might be the reason why the third overall pick in this year’s Rookie Draft still alienates himself in their practices.
“So far, nahihiya pa sya sa mga teammates namin eh. Pag andun sya sa practice, mag-isa sya. Di muna namin pinipilit makisama sa amin. Nandoon yung hiya kasi kailan lang sya dumating at kalian lang din kami nakapag-practice na kasama sya,” Belga said. “Di kailangang mag-solo sa team na ito. Kahit rookie ka o veteran, dapat makisama ka.”
“Hindi kasi kami yung klase ng veterans na aakayin ka,” he added. “Kung gusto mo, lumapit ka sa amin. As teammates, tagapayo lang kami. Sasabihin lang namin sa iyo kung ano dapat gawin. Hanggang dun lang kami, di kami yung gagawa.”
Despite the initial distance between Almazan and the rest of the Elasto Painters, Belga still believes that the 6-foot-8 rookie has a lot of upside given that he blends with the system of coach Yeng Guiao.
“Andun yung eagerness nya na magpakita. Malaki yung potential nya kasi malaki na sya, high leaper pa. Bihira yung ganun,” he said. “Sabi ko nga sa kanya, kung ganyan ako kalaki at di ganitong kalapad, mas malaki ang magiging advantage ko, kaya wag nyang sayangin.” (RLeongson)
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