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For Jerie Pingoy, it almost felt like a throwback of sorts.
With his team’s fate on his hands once again, the former UAAP Juniors Most Valuable Player did what he does best: deliver the goods.
“I really wanted the game today,” he said.
Finally putting his left ankle injury behind, the Cebuano guard drilled three consecutive treys in the final 2:03 which broke the back of Batangas-EAC to deliver the 89-79 victory for Akari-Adamson in the 2018 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup on Thursday.
READ: D-League: Pingoy’s late 3s tow Akari-Adamson past Batangas-EAC
That late flurry capped off his 6-of-9 shooting from downtown en route to 23 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and three steals in the win — his best showing in the developmental league to date.
Admittedly still groping for form after undergoing surgery back in December, Pingoy’s aim in the PBA D-League may be a little different from the team’s collective goal.
“I wanted to prove that I still can contribute even if I came off of an injury. I wanted to show that I still deserve to play,” he said.
But Pingoy tries his earnest to not veer away too much from the team’s mission as Akari-Adamson prepares for the upcoming UAAP season later this year.
“I just play my role. We don’t have a star player here, so we just try to help each other out,” he said as he seeks to follow the lead of top gun Jerrick Ahanmisi and recently-graduated guard Robbie Manalang.
Pingoy, though, remains committed to the system of coach Franz Pumaren.
“I will still do what coach wants me to do. I just hope this game of mine will continue,” he said.