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Going out of his comfort zone, Paul Desiderio is looking to make waves with Cafe France in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
And in his first game with the Bakers, the University of the Philippines scorer immediately made an impact.
The Cebuano guard finished with 16 points, seven coming in the fourth quarter, to go with six assists and three rebounds in Cafe France’s 83-67 win against Tanduay on Monday.
However, Desiderio said that he’s still feeling his way in coach Egay Macaraya’s squad.
“I’m still overeager because I haven’t been with Cafe France for that long. That’s what I’m adjusting, I try to adapt to coach Egay’s system.”
Though Desiderio admits that playing away from Diliman is an unusual environment for him, he knows that this move will do him nothing but good.
“In UP, it’s more on pick-and-roll and set plays. Here in Cafe France, it’s dribble-drive and relies more on the players’ decision making. It really develops you because you have to adjust your game,” he said.
His ability to adjust was put to the test late in the game with Tanduay cutting what was once a 26-point lead to just six, 67-61, early in the fourth.
Desiderio buckled down and did what he did best, slicing through the defense and finding the bottom of the net to ignite the Bakers’ final 16-6 salvo to come away with the 16-point win.
So far, Macaraya is glad with what he’s seeing with Desiderio, saying, “I guess it’s right that we picked up Paul and Michael (Calisaan) because they’re very good. If they continue to play the way they do, I guess we’re on the right track.”
But for Desiderio, he knows that he’s still far from his desired form as he hopes to contribute more to help Cafe France claim the Aspirants’ Cup title.
“As much as possible, we’ll do our best so we can make it to the semis,” he said.