Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Von Pessumal couldn’t be any more thankful for the veterans for making his life easy in San Miguel.
“It’s easy to play basketball here because we just go to June Mar (Fajardo) in the post and that provides the spacing for us. We get open and for me, it’s my job to shoot and knock it down,” he said.
Pessumal made the most of those chances on Friday in the Beermen’s 102-90 Game 1 victory in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.
With San Miguel establishing a decisive lead against Ginebra, 64-45, in the third quarter, coach Leo Austria had no second thoughts giving his second unit ample playing time.
The former Ateneo gunner then went ablaze and shot 4-of-5 from downtown and 7-of-10 from the field as he fired a career-high 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists in the victory.
That explosion came in handy when the Beermen needed to douse a belated rally from the Gin Kings, who cut the deficit to 12, 94-82, midway in the period.
For Pessumal, it was just a matter of doing his role for the loaded San Miguel squad, taking advantage of the opportunities given to him much to the delight of his coaches and teammates.
“I just repaid coach’s faith because he’s encouraging me in practice. Even if I have some bad games, he really gives me the chances,” he said.
“The same goes to my teammates because they believe in me. If I’m open, they’ll give it to me and they believe that I can knock it down. Chris (Ross) is always very stoic to me. He doesn’t care if I miss five in a row. He’ll give me the ball if I’m open. Marcio (Lassiter) is like my older brother. I’ll ask him questions and he’ll give me helpful advice that I know I can’t get from anybody else. So I just repaid all of their faith in me.”
After the game, Ross, who is celebrating his 33rd birthday on Friday, didn’t hesitate giving Pessumal a pat on the back, a nod of approval for the stupendous showing from the sophomores “That’s my boy,” Ross said
But Pessumal knows that the job still isn’t over for the Beermen, which are gunning to complete a rare four-peat in the all-Filipino conference.
“Our bench believe that we’re just as capable as the first group. We know that should be the mindset, that when you come in, we can sustain or even amp up our level of play,” he said.