PBA: Jonathon Simmons focused on NLEX games amid uncertainty of his stay

NLEX import Jonathon Simmons in the PBA Governors’ Cup. –PBA IMAGES

ANTIPOLO—With his PBA Governors’ Cup stay uncertain, Jonathon Simmons said he will just stay focused on the games at hand for NLEX.

After the Road Warriors’ 121-112 win against Northport at Ynares Center Antipolo on Saturday, the question of whether Simmons would stay with the team or not was brought up again.

In response, the former San Antonio Spur said he is not thinking about leaving or staying yet, but more of just playing for the undefeated squad.

“Right now I’m just worried about competing with the guys and the coaches. I’ll just do what they ask of us and we’ll go from there,” he said.

Simmons is currently in a tug-and-pull situation with his contract with his team in China while currently playing in the PBA. He was only cleared to play for NLEX a few hours before tip-off in its first game.

Simmons continued his string of high-scoring games with a 33-point performance. He also snagged eight rebounds and five assists. 

In his first game, Simmons nearly posted a double-double with 32 markers and nine boards. He is currently averaging 32.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a night.

Coach Frankie Lim, however, took on the situation in a more humorous manner.

“We will hide his passport so he can’t leave. Maybe burn it,”  the Lim said in jest.

Simmons, on the other hand, continued to focus on his Saturday game and assessed he was doing too much in the first half.

“I had to stop all of them. I was too aggressive in the first half. We fouled a lot in this game but I think we were tough at the same time. We intimidated them at the rim,” he said.

The Road Warriors gave up 32 fouls against Batang Pier but they registered six steals and three blocks as a team. They also scored 24 points off of 20 turnovers from Northport.