Never give up on your dream
In the ongoing PBA Governors Cup, there are 10 players making waves when it didn’t seem like their careers would even get off the ground at the start. They’re the prime examples of athletes who persevered, worked hard and never doubted themselves in making their dreams come true. Jerramy King. The 5-11 Fil-Am guard never scored more than two points in 34 games over two seasons with the Long Beach State varsity. That means he never hit a single triple. After redshirting his last two years at Long Beach State, he transferred to California State at East Bay and averaged three points in four contests with the NCAA Division II school. King, 28, took his act to the PBA as NLEX’ fourth round pick in the 2015 draft. He was the 36th player chosen of 54.
King couldn’t crack the Road Warriors lineup and finally got the chance to play for coach Caloy Garcia at Rain Or Shine last season when he averaged 3.6 points and 12.8 minutes in five games. In the Philippine Cup this campaign, King averaged two points and five minutes in four outings. His big break came when he moved to Columbian for the Commissioner’s Cup. He hit at a 14.2 clip in 11 games with the Dyip. Now, in the Governors Cup, King is the league’s third leading local scorer, averaging 22.4 points and a whopping 38.5 minutes in eight contests so far. He’s knocking down three triples while grabbing 7.9 rebounds and dishing out 3.3 assists an outing. It took King over a year since his draft to break into the PBA. Who would’ve expected an unheralded fourth round draft pick to become the league’s third top scorer?
Paul Zamar. The former UE Warrior was Barangay Ginebra’s fourth round pick in the 2012 draft, the 35th player chosen of 39. JuneMar Fajardo was the first overall selection that year and among those drafted ahead of Zamar were Calvin Abueva, Chris Tiu, Vic Manuel, Kelly Nabong, Emman Monfort, Simon Atkins, Karl Dehesa and Bacon Austria.
Zamar, 30, went to Malaysia and Thailand to play as an import when he couldn’t make the PBA grade. It’s a testament to his father Boycie’s integrity that he never pulled strings to get a job for his son in the PBA. Boycie is an assistant coach with San Miguel Beer. In Malaysia, Zamar averaged 21.9 points for the Labuan Wasps and in Thailand, suited up for Mono Thewphaingarm in the local league and Mono Vampire in the ABL.
Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy saw something special in Zamar and brought him over to join the Elite. Zamar
became one of the oldest PBA rookies in history when he made his Blackwater debut at 30 years, six months and 21 days old in the last Commissioner’s Cup. For the record, the oldest rookie ever was Sen. Manny Pacquiao who played in his first PBA game at 35. Others who made their debut at a late age were Jeffrey Sanders 32, Lou Gatumbato 31, Aris Franco 31 and Demetrio Antonio 31.
In the Commissioner’s Cup, Zamar averaged 10.1 points and 23 minutes in seven games. In the Governors Cup where Blackwater now has a 6-1 record, he’s averaging 10.4 points and 20.9 minutes, hitting 37 percent from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent from the line. Zamar ’s clutch scoring has sealed several wins for Blackwater which is enjoying its best conference ever.
(Continued tomorrow)