Mallari impressed with ‘well-oiled machine’ Star

Alex Mallari vs former team Star. PBA IMAGES

Alex Mallari was so excited to play his former Star team on Wednesday that he unknowingly went to the wrong venue.

“I went to Araneta (Coliseum) at 1:45 p.m. I realized where I was at. I went to the ticket booth and they asked what am I doing here?” he shared with a chuckle.

Mallari managed to make it to Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay and though he was 30 minutes late for Mahindra’s 2 p.m. call time, he still got his pregame shots down.

Unfortunately, the Floodbuster fell to the Hotshots, 124-87. The 29-year-old Mallari shot a paltry 6-of-18 clip from the field to finish with 15 points, five assists, and four rebounds.

Mallari, though, isn’t using the confusion as an excuse, saying, “I got a bunch of looks at the basket but they weren’t just going in. I was in the wrong place.”

The Fil-Am swingman admitted it was weird facing off against his former teammates, but acknowledged that the Hotshots really looked like a completely different team out there.

“I play with them in practice all the time. But being on the other side, it was strange. They had a different look on offense so I didn’t recognize it. It’s definitely weird,” he said, looking at the team where he won four championships in his four years in the league.

As the dust settled, Mallari could only speak praises of his former team as they parted ways, with Star gearing towards the playoffs while Mallari, now with Mahindra, looking forward to the next conference.

“They’re good and they’re a well-oiled machine,” he said. “They got a lot more weapons. Before, there were only a couple guys, but today, it could be anybody any given night. Allein (Maliksi) is looking like a go-to guy and they’ve got a bunch of young guys and veteran leaders.”

“They have everything, all the tools, all the pieces to make it back to the top. I wish them luck and I hope they go far.”