MANILA – Prior to the 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Draft, collegiate hotshot Ian Sangalang verbally expressed his desire to play for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. On Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum, Sangalang faced the team which opted to pick Greg Slaughter instead of him. “Yung puso ko naman nasa San Mig na ngayon eh,” Sangalang told Solar Sports Desk. “So maglalaro ako ng buong puso ko sa San Mig. Bibigay ko yung lahat ko. Wala ako sa Ginebra -- andito ako sa San Mig kaya dito ako magfofocus.” The game which served as the curtain-raiser to the league’s 39th season, saw the newly-minted Governors’ Cup champions open their Philippine Cup campaign with an 86-69 defeat to Ginebra. The former NCAA and PBA D-League MVP made a good account of himself in his professional debut with eight points, four rebounds and two assists. Slaughter, on the other hand, had an impressive double-double performance of 10 points and 13 rebounds. But their game was overshadowed by the surprise performance of Ginebra forward Dylan Ababou, who came off the bench for his team to score 16 points in the second half. Sangalang did not deny the fact that he had a rough time going up against the big frontline of Ginebra, composed of Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar and JayR Reyes. “Mahirap talaga na may ganung malalaki kasi kada shoot mo andyan sila. Kagaya nga kanina andaming blocks ng Ginebra,” said Sangalang. The Gin Kings had seven blocks as a team, five of which came from Aguilar. San Mig Coffee also lost the battle of the boards, 43-51. In his debut, Sangalang logged a total of 23 minutes, often coming in to substitute San Mig star James Yap. “Binibigyan rin ako ng pagkakataon ni Coach Tim na maglaro kaya ginagawa ko lang yung best ko every time na nasa loob ako ng court. Siguro nasa simula pa lang kami, wala pa kami sa mga options.” The rookie admitted that along with fellow newcomers Justin Melton and Isaac Holstein, he has yet to fully grasp the system that Coach Tim Cone wants to implement. “Maraming options yung triangle eh. Simula pa lang ito. Marami pa kaming kelangan matutunan about triangle. Kasi one pass away, minsan nawawala kami.” “First time kong maglaro ng triangle offense kaya medyo naninibago ako. So gawin ko lang yung best ko sa practice, focus lang ako, makukuwa ko naman.” Asked by Solar Sports Desk if he feels any pressure on being the second overall pick of this year’s draft, Sangalang replied, saying, “siyempre meron din. Nageexpect din yung mga fans at yung team na maglalaro ako ng mabuti. So ayun, kailangan talaga i-improve ko pa yung sarili ko sa mga next games.” San Mig Coffee will try to register their first win in the Philippine Cup this coming Friday, November 22, against the Alaska Aces, 2 pm at the Cuneta Astrodome. Follow the writer on Twitter: @kali_quinones
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 03:24:38 +0000