MANILA, Philippines – Playing in the shadow of a two-time MVP could be a difficult situation as a basketball player.
But now that former De La Salle Green Archers anchor Ben Mbala is busy playing overseas, the floor is wide-open for Justine Baltazar, and he is taking full advantage.
Against no less than his former head coach Aldin Ayo – who's now calling the shots for the UST Growling Tigers – the 6-foot-7 big man tallied a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Archers’ 99-72 blowout win on Wednesday, October 3, at the Mall of Asia Arena. (READ: Green Archers embarrass former coach Ayo, Tigers)
Baltazar only wanted to prove his worth – nothing personal against his former mentor.
“Para kay coach Aldin, pinakita ko lang na nag-improve ako ngayon,” the former NU Bullpups Finals MVP said.
“Nagpapasalamat ako kay coach [Louie Gonzalez]. Naging maganda yung gameplan namin tsaka sa mga teammates ko. Lagi nila akong binibigyan sa post kaya siguro naging maganda yung laro ko ngayon.”
(For coach Aldin, I just showed that I am improving now. I’m thanking coach Louie. We had a good game plan and my teammates kept feeding me in the post so maybe that’s why I had a good game today.)
After two years playing behind Mbala and averaging less than 10 minutes under Ayo, Baltazar has exploded for averages of 15.2 points, 11 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game in 27.7 minutes over 5 games.
“Last year sa kanya (Ayo) wala akong playing time talaga, ilang minutes lang ako nilaro. Ngayon pinakita ko lang talaga sa kanya na nag-improve ako talaga," he added. “Gumanda ‘yung laro ko dahil sa mga teammates ko rin. Lagi kami nag-uusap kasi.”
(Last year under coach Ayo, I really didn’t have playing time. Now, I showed him that I improved. My game got better because I kept communicating with my teammates.)
With La Salle’s Kiwi reinforcement Taane Samuel out for most of the season due to injury, Baltazar has all the time in the world to show why he was once one of the best players to come out of high school. Scarily enough for other teams, he may just be scratching the surface. – Rappler.com
