Belo overcomes jitters, lack of sleep to impress in PBA debut

Mac Belo debuts for Blackwater. PBA IMAGES

Usually calm and collected, Mac Belo admitted he was anxious on the eve of his keenly-awaited PBA debut.

Belo was so nervous he barely slept.

But it hardly showed on Wednesday night when he put up 17 points and nine rebounds to help Blackwater hold off Phoenix, 94-87, in the 2017 Philippine Cup.

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“You can see the kid’s potential. He’s full of promise,” said his head coach Leo Isaac. “But also committed some mistakes and it’s up to us, the coaches to guide him.”

Always a team player, the 6-foot-4 forward out of Far Eastern University attributed his solid performance to his teammates and coaches.

“We played as a team and found the open man and it just so happened that I was the one who was open,” said Belo.

“Hopefully, we’ll continue to improve. My coaches and our veterans also helped me with the adjustments I needed to make especially with the officiating.”

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In terms of his transition to the pros, Belo said he made efforts to build on his strength and conditioning to prepare himself for the PBA’s physicality.

“We all know that here in the PBA, players are bigger and stronger and that’s what I really work on, to improve my conditioning.”

Belo went 7-of-9 from the field and off his two misses, one was blocked by JC Intal in the second quarter.

“Welcome to the PBA,” Belo said beaming.

But in reality, Belo’s welcoming moment was his near double-double outing.

“It didn’t know it felt good to play even without sleep,” he said in jest.