Erram credits Guiao for improving his game

TNT coach Bong Ravena said the Tropang Giga pretty much secured its immediate future with the likes of RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario and Poy Erram.

Erram was pleasantly surprised to find his name on that list.

“I’m really honored that they look at me with such high regard, that they want me for a long time,” he told the Inquirer in Filipino. “That’s enough reason for me to do even better.”

Erram has become one of the premier big men after his breakout performance with Blackwater. So prolific was Erram that he eventually found himself being tapped for national team duty.

He landed at TNT through a dragging three-team deal that finally pushed through last February. Erram didn’t have eye-popping numbers for the club during its bid in the recent all-Filipino conference but proved to be steady when it mattered most for TNT.During the championship series, he averaged 14 points, 13.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Erram knows he’s a work in progress, one that seriously began construction under Yeng Guiao, his former coach at NLEX.

“He was the one who gave me a break, who raised my name [by] putting me in the Gilas (program),” he said. “Aside from bringing me to NLEX, my value as a player went up because of him.”

“I really appreciate him for that,” added Erram, who hopes to make Guiao proud, even if he’s playing for another team.

“I want to repay [him for] everything he has done for my career,” he said.