James White motivated by Phoenix’s early exit last conference

When James White first entered the PBA, the then 22-year-old was just few months removed from his time with Georgia Tech.

White, though, had seamless adjustment to the life in the Philippines, thanks to legendary Manny Pacquiao, who was the player-coach of Kia back in 2016.

A couple of years have passed since White and Pacquiao shared the same uniform, but the teenage-looking import hasn’t forgotten the lessons the eight-division boxing World champion had taught him.

“The biggest lesson he gave me is to keep working hard no matter what, even though you’re in a situation where you don’t want to work, you just got to keep going,” said White, who is now part of Phoenix, said after practice at Upper Deck Sports Center.

“You should work harder on the times when you don’t want to work.”

And White plans to use those teachings as he immerses himself with the Fuel Masters for the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup and try to replicate the success he had in Kia with Phoenix.

White was the import that led the Enforcer to their first and only playoffs appearance after finishing the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup with a 6-5 record.

“I get motivation from my teammates, they went through a lot of things, a lot of adversity,” said White, referring to Phoenix’ failed playoffs bid in the Philippine Cup.

The furthest the Fuel Masters got in the Philippine Cup was a playoff for the 8th seed where they lost to TNT.

“They got a playoff only to be knocked out so I think that emotion carried over and now we’re motivated,” said White. “We’re just getting motivated to keep moving forward and keep pushing.”