Minutes were thoroughly distributed among Gilas Pilipinas players Wednesday night against Vietnam, as head coach Chot Reyes decided to rest and sit out naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche in the game.
And one of those who simply took advantage of the 6-foot-11 center’s absence is 6-foot-8 forward Raymond Almazan.
Prior to Wednesday, the forward out of Orion, Bataan was just averaging six points and 5.25 caroms in the Nationals’ first four assignments. But, those numbers will surely shoot up after taking on the Vietnamese side.
With him relishing his role in the front court spot for a total of 20 minutes and 37 seconds, Almazan played his best game yet in the cagefest, finishing with 16 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting — highlighted by a rare three-pointer.
And for the three-year Rain or Shine Elasto Painters stretched forward, who also added six caroms to his statline, it was all a result of him doing his task whenever coach Chot Reyes checks him in the court.
“Just doing [my] job lang inside,” said Almazan after the bout. “Make the most out of it na ‘pag ginagamit ka, bigay mo yung best mo. Alam naman natin na superteam yung team natin eh. Talagang sa amin naman, kahit sino, pwedeng shumoot, pwedeng pumutok.
“Basta pag ginamit ka lang, give your best.”
And Almazan was just more than ready when he saw the need to step up, when Blatche was reduced to a spectator due to a tweaked hamstring.
“Kailangan ready ka talaga kasi anytime bubunutin ka eh. Tulad ngayon, iba yung starting five namin so iba rin yung second unit. Kailangan every game, ready ka,” said the third overall pick of the 2013 PBA Draft.
“Every game, kahit di ka gagamitin ni coach, kailangan ganun yung mentality mo.”
Gilas will end their SEABA campaign Thursday night against Indonesia in the virtual gold medal match, and Almazan and the rest of the team will utilize the remaining hours left to gather themselves before the war.
“We need to prepare early and then rest our body,” he ended.
