CHANCE TO SHINE
It’s quite surprising for some, but for Eliud Poligrates, his fourth quarter outburst in Air21’s close 82-87 defeat against Rain or Shine on Monday is more of a reintroduction of himself.
Considering his last relevant appearance was way back in the season opener in Cebu, right in front of his provincemates when he was still with Talk ‘N Text, it was a sweet tour of duty for the six-footer Poligrates, razzling and dazzling the Big Dome crowd as he helped the Express climb back into the game after trailing by as much as 13.
“First time ulit dito sa Air21. Yun yung pinakamahabang playing time ko dito,” said the shifty Cebuano guard who had seven of his 13 points in the fourth after playing for a conference-high 24 minutes for coach Franz Pumaren.
Though many heads turned with Poligrates’ aggressiveness, it’s not as shocking for some who are used to seeing this kind of outbursts while playing in Cebu.
“Ganun naman talaga yung laro ko. Aggressive lang, depensa lang muna tapos lalabas din yung laro mo,” he said.
Poligrates hopes that this turns out to be a real breakout game, especially coming at a time when the Express are preparing for a tough grind in the quarterfinals.
“Sana di mag-iba yung isip ni coach, na napagkakatiwalaan nya ako ng playing time,” he said. “Depende lang din sa coach yan tsaka depende rin sa itatakbo namin sa practice.” (RL)
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