Proving his worth
Vindication was what Kelly Nabong gave Meralco on Saturday, as the bruiser stepped up big and justified Meralco’s acquisition of him early in the conference to save the Bolts’ campaign in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup.
“Kelly Nabong played big for us inside the paint,” said coach Norman Black. “He did a good job of driving to the basket off pick-and-rolls which allowed him to get open, and he was able to score off those pick-and-rolls.”
With the first group coming out sluggish and falling behind by as much as 13 early in the game, Nabong led the bench mob as Meralco forced a sudden death affair against San Miguel with a 106-99 victory in their quarterfinal opener.
Nabong was instrumental in the win, going for 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Bolts bench outscored the Beermen, 49-20.
But for the tireless forward, it’s just the Bolts’ sense of desperation in trying to extend their season.
“We came out slow. Our first group was a little bit hesitant, but we came out and showed a lot of intensity and made them turn the ball over 11 times in halftime,” he said.
Nabong also pointed out that he tried to give his all in limiting San Miguel giant June Mar Fajardo. Though Fajardo still finished with 30 points and nine rebounds, Nabong still made the SMB behemoth bleed for each of those numbers.
“It’s hard to stop June Mar, but when we get the ball out of his hands, that’s the best we can do,” he said. “He’s 6-10, 270 (pounds). I’m just 6-6 on a good day. It’s very hard, but we did it as a team. We came together and tried our best to stop him.”
And he’s hoping that the results would be the same on Monday.
“Next game, we’ve got to come out and show the same intensity that we did. The starters have to do it from the jumpball,” said Nabong. (RL)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
