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Backstopping a team made up of amateur standouts, Kent Salado has surprisingly emerged as a cornerstone for Racal early in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
Averaging 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in the Tile Masters’ last two victories, the speedy guard’s confidence is at an all-time high, thanks largely to the trust coach Jerry Codinera is giving him.
“I’m just focused on doing my job. Like what coach is doing, I’m giving myself a lot of confidence,” said Salado in Filipino.
But that isn’t always the case.
Seeing limited minutes through the first three quarters of Racal’s game against Wangs Basketball on Thursday, Salado had limited success to the basket.
“I didn’t know what to do because when I made a shot, I got benched,” he said.
Eventually, Salado got his looks and made the most out of it, unleashing 10 of his 14 points in the payoff period as he anchored the Tile Masters’ 89-84 victory over the Couriers.
Eight of those 10 fourth quarter points came in the last five minutes, where the Cagayan de Oro-native helped Racal break off and cruise to its fourth win in as many games.
“Fortunately, I got 10 points in the fourth quarter because coach opted to play me more,” he said.
Salado knows that he has to share minutes among equally talented players in Racal’s loaded roster, but the Arellano product is just taking advantage of the chance to grow in the PBA D-League.
It also helps that he gets to play alongside collegiate stars like Rey Nambatac and Sidney Onwubere, whom he usually plays against in the NCAA.
“A lot of people say that our team is hard to beat because the first and second five are both strong. But for me, it’s really a big help. Whatever I can do, I do it here. It will also be valuable for me when the NCAA comes.”