Ex-barista Bates helps brew winning concoction for Bolts

Brandon Bates –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Meralco rookie Brandon Bates feels his time working in a coffee shop in his hometown Australia was “the most cathartic job” he has ever done in his life.

“In case you guys still haven’t noticed, I love talking to people, serving people,” he said in a candid chat with the Inquirer.“I’d be up at four or five o’clock in the morning for the opening shift and sometimes, if I have to stay for the whole day, until 4 p.m. then 4:30 for the end of [the shift]. I just love doing it.”

Bates may have to soon reconsider his answer as he is shaping up to become a key figure in the Bolts’ future campaigns following a riveting performance that helped deliver the franchise’s first-ever PBA title.

Picked eighth overall in the last Rookie Draft, the La Salle product who traces his Filipino lineage through his mom, held his own against the league’s premier big men Japeth Aguilar, Christian Standhardinger, and ultimately the highly revered and the PBA’s seven-time MVP, June Mar Fajardo.

Bates said that going up against the PBA’s top-flight frontline talents is going to be transformative for his career—especially considering the frequency of those meetings.

“I think it’s incredibly important [to be] playing against the best of the best in a seven-game series. I’ve learned a lot from it, so hopefully, I’ll be able to take it into my second season,” he said.

Bates played against the Aguilar-Standhardinger tandem for seven grueling games, and then another six tightly contested matches against Fajardo, whose peers call the most dominant of this era.

As rich as the praise heaped upon him, Bates felt he wouldn’t have unlocked such a fine play if not for his teammates. And that is also the same thing that fuels his optimism heading into the next season.

“We have so many other great players. So many other vets who have guided me, who have shown me the ropes, showed me how to play,” he went on. “All things considered, It’s just part of the course.”

Bates has repeatedly likened the progression of his young career to a movie—having gone from serving espresso shots to hitting and blocking them in Asia’s pioneering pro league. INQ