Alfonzo Gotladera raised his draft stock after an outstanding showing during the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge Cup. During the third game of the tournament, he played 19 minutes against a tall Chinese frontline that drew rave reviews from pundits.
“Very challenging. It was my first time to play for FIBA. And it was very challenging,” Gotladera reflected about the tournament during the 2016 SLAM Draft Suite. “The guys that I defended were a lot bigger and more mature, experience-wise, so it was really tough for us. But I like how our team competed and I think we achieved our goals.”
But the knack on the former Ateneo Blue Eagle’s game is that he is less agile compared to his contemporaries. At 6-foot-6 and weighing at least 190 pounds, Gotladera knows that he has to get leaner and quicker to keep up with the big boys of the big league.
“First I have to be faster. I think that’s one aspect of my game that needs to be improved on,” said Gotladera, who averaged 4.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in his final year with Ateneo. “Then I think I have to be more stronger, physical-wise because I’ll be up against bigger guys and guys who are stronger than me, so I have to be ready for that.”
Though still a project, Gotladera assured that his work ethic won’t be a problem for the team that will draft him.
“I think coming from Ateneo, I honed my character very well,” the Gilas big man said.
“I think that’s one thing I can bring to the table, my good character and being a team player.”
And with his tireless work rate that he believes he possesses, the 24-year-old knows that he can be just like a “Marc Pingris” one day.
“As of now, I compare myself to Marc Pingris, with the tenacity, the hunger to get rebounds. I think that’s the player I can become,” he said.
