Maturity is what Paul Zamar will be bringing to Blackwater as he finally gets his PBA career going.
“I think I turned from a boy to a man,” he said after wrapping up his responsibilities with Mono Vampire in the ASEAN Basketball League. “It’s not just playing in the ABL, but also my experiences playing in the local leagues in Thailand. I really matured. I learned a lot, especially being independent.”
Zamar wouldn’t deny how hard it was leaving the comforts of the Philippines to take his act overseas.
But after a stellar showing in the regional league that saw him net 16.1 points on 36 percent shooting from three, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, that was enough for him to earn his ticket back home.
“Even though it was hard for me to leave my family, now I have a chance to come home and I won’t let that opportunity go,” he said.
The 30-year-old Zamar, though, will have to find his niche quick as he fits in with a skidding Blackwater team, which is 0-4 this 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“I’ll try to bring positive energy to them. I know they’re in a losing streak. I’m not a magician, the same way coach Bong (Ramos) isn’t one, but I’ll give my best to help the team like what I gave to Mono Vampire,” he said.
Zamar makes his debut for the Elite on Friday against Ginebra, the same team which drafted him in the fourth round of the 2012 PBA Draft.