Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
The name on the back of Allein Maliksi’s Gilas Pilipinas jersey spelled oddly different when the Philippines played Myanmar to open its bid in the 2017 Seaba Championship on Friday.
The former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tiger explained that the typo on his birth certificate forced him to change the ‘K’ to a ‘C,’ something which he also followed in his passport and his Fiba-sanctioned uniform.
“My birth certificate had my name spelled with a ‘C,’ so I applied the same spelling on my passport and here because that’s how the Fiba ruling goes,” he said.
But regardless of the different spelling, Maliksi was his same old self on the offensive end, pouring in 20 points that went with five rebounds and two assists in his national team debut in the Philippines’ 107-point beatdown of Myanmar.
“When you smell blood, you go for the kill. If you’re facing a weaker opponent, you can’t play around with them. We can’t underestimate them and not give them any chance,” he said.
Maliksi added that the dominant showing gave the public a glimpse of how Gilas badly wants to win the coveted ticket to the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup.
The Star forward also said Gilas will face stronger competition in the coming days and the team must maintain its intensity.
“We still can’t test our skills unless we face the tougher teams. This is just a step, a warm-up. Hopefully in our next games, it will be more challenging for our team to work so that we can prepare better for the bigger challenges ahead,” he said.
Gilas plays Singapore on Saturday before facing Malaysia on Sunday.