PBA: Monfort relishing the opportunity given by Toroman

Emman Monfort Photo by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines — Size doesn’t matter for Barako Bull’s five-foot-six point guard Emman Monfort.

Monfort continued his torrid start in the 2013 PBA Governors’ Cup to help the Energy gain solo second place just a half game behind the top spot.

The 24-year-old Monfort, who earned the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week citation (August 26-September 1)  proved that his early success was no fluke as he outshone Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s LA Tenorio in their match up last Saturday where the Energy cruised to a 104-91 rout.

“First, he is a hard worker in practice,” said Barako Bull consultant Rajko Toroman. “Second, he is showing size is not the most important thing if you are skills-smart. And last, if you have character you can do a lot.”

“He is starting to be the player I had expected that can make a big impact in the PBA,” Energy coach Bong Ramos said. “Emman is working hard everyday in practice. He invests a lot during our training, that’s why he is playing great right now,” added Ramos. “The system is good for him, too. He embraces it.”

Monfort, the 16th overall pick in the 2012 PBA Draft, re-set his career-high for the third time in four games with 25 points built on five three-pointers to go along with two rebounds, two assists and a couple of steals.

“It’s the opportunity that coach Toroman gave me. I work hard to pay back the opportunity he gave me,” said the former Ateneo Blue Eagle Monfort.

Monfort, who is averaging 17.0 points, 3.25 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game, beat out Alaska’s Cyrus Baguio and Meralco’s Cliff Hodge for the weekly honors.