Winning does not mean everything
Winning championships left and right has a downside: once you are on top of the world, complacency and overconfidence may set in. But a trade during the off-season has re-aligned Alex Mallari’s goals.
And it has only brought good things for him.
29-year-old swingman Alex Mallari has won four PBA championships with the Star Hotshots. Prior to the start of the 2016-17 Philippine Cup, however, he was traded to the Mahindra Floodbusters — a franchise that has been near or at the bottom of the league for the last two years.
“Obviously, championships are really good but there was something inside me missing, like that competitive fire,” Mallari reflected.
“Here, I have freedom, something that I wanted to do when I was in Star. It just feels good to play 30-plus minutes.”
Pundits view Mahindra as basketball purgatory. But Mallari has turned Mahindra into his proving ground, playing like a man who has something to prove when he is on the floor.
During the past two games, the native of Long Beach, California has led this rag-tag team to two straight wins, averaging 13.0 points on a highly-efficient 48.49 percent shooting, 8.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists.
“I just want to show what I learned over there in Star,” he remarked about his personal resurgence.
“I just want to prove to myself that I can be part of the higher echelon of the league.”
More importantly for him, he has helped keep his team alive with four games remaining on their calendar.
“It’s good for our confidence for sure and we’re not out mathematically yet. He have to win three or four in a row,” the five-year league veteran shared.
“So, we still have a chance because that’s the only thing we can do: give ourselves a chance.”
Mallari has accepted, though, that the Floodbuster may not have the same weapons like San Miguel, Ginebra, or even like Star. But for him, talent can easily be offset by passion — something that he is hoping they display for 48 minutes in each of their remaining games.
“If we play as a team and stick to the game plan, we give ourselves a chance. That’s all we can ask for,” he furthered.
“Even if we may not be as talented as the other teams but if we play hard, we have a chance.”
As they say: hard work always beats talent when talent fails to work hard.
Mallari and Mahindra look to make it three-in-a-row as they face the TNT Katropa on Wednesday, January 18, at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City
