MANILA, Philippines–Mike DiGregorio ended his stint with Blackwater with a bang, firing 22 points to lead the Elite hours before his shipment to TNT.
And while he was grateful for the journey with the young franchise, the Filipino-Italian guard said he is now looking forward to opening a new chapter at KaTropa.
“I’m very excited,” he told the Inquirer when asked about his transfer. “It’s a franchise with a winning culture and their main goal is to always compete and win.”
DiGregorio was traded last Saturday for Brian Heruela, a four-time PBA Champion with San Miguel Beer.
“As a competitor, that’s all you could ask for: to compete at the highest level in the big games,” he added.
There’s plenty of that to go around right now over at the TNT side, with the flagship MVP team coming off a Commissioner’s Cup Finals campaign and is now enjoying an unbeaten run in the Governors’ Cup.
But DiGregorio knows that there’s a process that comes hand in hand with this side of “the business,” and his foremost task is to learn the ropes from Jayson Castro.
The 27-year-old marksman believes the transition should be easy.
“He’s a very humble and unselfish superstar so I know the transition will be seamless. I want to try and learn as much as I can from him and just try to be a sponge anytime I’m around him,” he added.
DiGregorio is set to debut with TNT against sister team NLEX this Friday in a battle between the top two teams of the draw.
There, DiGregorio hopes to deliver exactly what he was plucked out of Blackwater for–shooting.
“With guys like Jayson and KJ (McDaniels) being able to break down thee defense at any time, it really is a shooters’ paradise,” said DiGregorio.
“Now the next step for someone like me and the rest of the guys spreading the floor is to just knock down the shots,” he added.