NLEX’S THORNTON: DEFINITELY PHYSICAL, BUT IT’S A GOOD THING

Al Thornton was excited when he first heard that he’ll play in the Philippines.

With Philippine basketball having a reputation of being one of the toughest in the world, the NBA veteran welcomed the challenge and took it head on. And to be honest, he still was surprised.

“It’s more physical than I thought. I heard about the physicality. It was competitive, but it was definitely physical, but it’s a good thing,” he said.

Unfortunately, his second half explosion could not save NLEX from falling to Rain or Shine, 91-96, Tuesday in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Thornton had 19 of his 28 points in the last two cantos alongside his 12 rebounds and two blocks, including a highlight film rejection of Gabe Norwood late in the game.

But for the 31-year-old journeyman, he felt that if they could’ve just gotten a few possessions here and there, they could’ve escaped with the come-from-behind win.

“It is a pretty good game. I feel like we didn’t play a complete game. In the first and second quarters, we played sluggish. In the third and fourth quarter, we picked it up. If we just played a complete game, we could’ve won the game, but it’s a learning process,” Thornton said. “It was a good game and we were a couple of key possessions away from the victory.”

Thornton also bucked the assumption that he struggled in his adjustment as a power forward, after filling in the three-spot in the NBA.

“I played a little bit of both tonight and that’s because of my size. In the NBA, I play mainly three, but here it’s a little bit of both,” he said, adding that he’s slowly getting accustomed to the nuances of his teammates in NLEX.

But for Thornton, the main focus is still the physicality, and he vowed to come out better the next time out.

“It was definitely a surprise, though, but it’s ok and I’ll be ok.” (RL)

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