Overeager Jalalon learns lesson from scoreless outing
BOCAUE – Jio Jalalon offered no excuse for his scoreless showing in his Manila Clasico debut on Sunday.
Held to a paltry 0-of-10 shooting from the field, the rookie admits that his emotions got the better of him in Star’s 86-79 defeat to Ginebra at Philippine Arena here.
“Gigil ako eh. Hindi ako ready sa pagpasok ko, tapos nanggigil ako bigla,” he said. “That’s why pagkakuha ko ng first foul, gusto ko bumawi kaagad. Yun yung mali ko.”
It was Jalalon’s first ever scoreless outing not only in his short PBA stint, but in his entire basketball career too.
Though he struggled to get his rhythm amid foul trouble, the former Arellano star still found a way to rack up six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
“My priority is really defense,” he quipped.
Still, Jalalon is looking at this humbling experience as a valuable lesson in his young career, with Victolero offering him words of wisdom when the Hotshots returned to the dugout.
“Sabi lang nya sa akin, ‘Ngayon, alam mo na.’ Lesson learned talaga ito sa akin kaya naging excited ako masyado. Yun ang natutunan ko,” he said.
Jalalon is also keeping a piece of this game in his memory, as he hopes to fare better the next time he meets his best bud and Ginebra sophomore Scottie Thompson.
“Parang maganda pa nga yun para sa akin, na magkabantayan kami eh. Ngayon, mapaghahandaan ko na yung mangyayari next time magharap kami,” he said.
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