Kris Rosales. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Playing backup to Jayson Castro at TNT was one of the factors Kris Rosales took into consideration in choosing the team he’ll play for in his second crack at the PBA.
For Rosales, who was selected by Barako Bull in the second round of the 2015 PBA Draft but was left unsigned, there was no pros and cons playing behind one of the best guards in Asia.
To him, he saw it as an opportunity to expand his game and grow further as a player being in an environment surrounded by teammates, who are proven veterans and know what it takes to win.
“I’m playing behind Jayson so I think I can learn a lot from him and with all the veterans in the team, like Danny Seigle, Harvey Carey, Ryan Reyes, Kelly Williams, all those guys, they’ve been teaching me a lot in practice and off the court, what to work on and stuff,” said Rosales, who was also recruited by Koy Banal, when he was still head coach of Phoenix.
“I think that veteran mentality and along these coaches who have lot of experience is something I wanted to come into.”
Proving his worth, the 25-year-old Rosales came off the bench and scored nine of his 13 points in the second half, where TNT got its bearing back to beat Meralco, 98-95.
“I make it a point to be more aggressive, not necessary to score but to make plays for the team, and some of the guys at the bench are telling me to become aggressive so I try to listen to the veterans a lot and they told me to stay aggressive, so I stayed aggressive that’s why I was able to get points,” he said.
“I’m adjusting well. I adjusted well in the tune-ups but when we started playing real PBA games, now I have to adjust to the real games and now I’m two games in, I feel I got a lot more experience especially now down the stretch.”
His coach Jong Uichico knew what Rosales is capable of, having seen the Fil-American guard play in the ABL Finals in Singapore.
“Kris is so far, these past two games, a good reliever to Jayson, he does his role, he doesn’t do anything fancy. Just play the game and defend. He is becoming a good reliever to Jayson,” Uichico said.
Known more as a playmaker and ability to defend, Rosales showcased his offense shooting 4-of-8 from the field and frequently getting to the line where he made all of his five free throw attempts.
He also did all that while matched up against a legend and someone he looks up to in Jimmy Alapag.
“He’s one of the faces of basketball, as a Fil-am, hes one of the guys you look up to. He came from California, I’m from California, back home all I hear is Jimmy. Jimmy is the guy. I was just happy to compete against him and he played a great game.”