HYRAM’S BACK….AND HOW!
Hyram Bagatsing never imagined that he would still be playing big league ball at the age of 30.
Already done with his D-League career two years prior, the former La Salle guard was satisfied playing pickup basketball in BF Homes in Parañaque with his neighbors.
Until a certain 5-foot-6 baller with an aura like no other joined them.
“I was playing with him on pickup games,” Bagatsing said of the man. “I really didn’t think I’m still going to play basketball anymore.”
Then, Kia entered the PBA and the man he played ball with was named as its playing-coach. “They gave me an opportunity to work my way up and I’m just thankful for him too,” Bagatsing said.
That man was eight division boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao.
And on Wednesday, Bagatsing paid back the trust given to him by the coaching staff by erupting for 21 points, going 6-of-7 from three-point country, as the Carnival upset another big dig in Talk ‘N Text, 106-103.
“I’m just really happy to be part of something, part of Kia which is a new team, and with a great bunch of guys. It makes it easy to come to work and work hard everyday having the trust of the coaching staff and the management. I guess that’s really the main reason why I’m confident,” said the 6-foot-1 Bagatsing. “My teammates just keep on finding me. I’m just really fortunate that everything is falling in.”
After suiting up for the Shopinas.com Clickers in the 2011-2012 Philippine Cup, Bagatsing made his way back to the PBA D-League, where he helped Blackwater win the 2013 Foundation Cup. But after hitting the age limit of 28 and no team calling for his services, he decided to hang his sneakers and accept his fate. But two years after, he’s back in the PBA.
“It feels really good right now. I’m just happy to be a part of the team. We have a good import in PJ (Ramos) which just opens up everything for us. I’m just really happy right now to be a part of the team,” Bagatsing said.
And all of this, he said, is because of Pacquiao.
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