Bataan rising to MPBL challenge
BALANGA, Bataan – The last time Jojo Lastimosa experienced an 11-game winning run was more than two decades ago when he was still playing for the Alaska Milkmen and became part of their grand slam run.
One of the 40 Greatest Players in the PBA, the former Rookie of the Year and 10-time PBA champion is now cherishing the moment while enjoying the longest winning streak posted by any team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and his team, the Bataan Risers-Zetapro, is not done yet.
“You can never get contented,” Lastimosa told this writer. “You cannot be satisfied and you continue to aspire and see how far you can go.”
After losing their debut game, the Risers had won their last 11 games, capped by their 77-60 triumph over the Pasay Voyagers late Saturday night here.
The Risers had kept a hold of the solo lead of the 26-team cast of the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend and former MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.
Throughout the winning run, Lastimosa was able to get huge contributions from his old reliables – ex-pros Pamboy Raymundo and Byron Villarias, former Alab player Rob Celiz, promising players Jeepy Faundo and Vince Tolentino and homegrown players led by former PBA scoring champion Gary David, Gio Espuelas and Al Carlos among others.
But can the Risers go the extra mile?
“I have no aspirations that we will go undefeated in all of our remaining games. You just have to hope for the best. I still felt there are still some room for improvement and we want to value the learning we get from each game more than anything else,” added Lastimosa.
Bataan is undoubtedly in a zone, but its campaign has yet to reach the halfway stretch of this long and grueling campaign. The team has 13 more games in the elimination round. The Risers have yet to face the big dogs in the tournament, including the San Juan KnightsGo-For-Gold and the Muntinlupa CagersAngelis Resort among others.
They’re on a roll and home fans were savoring the moment. The Risers have remained undefeated at home even though it’s noticeable it’s always a struggle for teams making buckets at the People’s Center where matches were all played in a low-scoring affair.
“The rims are hard, so the bounce of the ball every time you take a shot has a big effect to the game. But we’re not complaining. We’re 5-0 here,” added Lastimosa.
Even David, Villarias and Tolentino admitted the struggle playing at the People’s Center.
“Maybe, our advantage is we’ve been practicing at this venue. But it’s really hard to shoot here,” added Villarias.
David, who made a living knocking down every basket throughout his career, knew they have to adjust to the playing atmosphere at home.
“You just have to get used to it and find ways to win,” he added. “But the fans were the reasons why we continue to play good here.” Tolentino had a more frank argument. “You cannot question the winning record at home. We’re 5-0 even though we were struggling shooting the ball. Not only us, but all the teams playing here. At the end of the day, it’s finding ways to win and we were finding ways doing it.”