Allein Maliksi admitted that he got the jitters heading into Meralco’s PBA On Tour duel versus Barangay Ginebra, Wednesday night.
The veteran gunner felt conscious with how he’d perform as the rivalry affair took place at his alma mater, University of Santo Tomas, and was witnessed live at the Quadricentennial Pavilion by some of his batchmates.
“Nakakakaba nung una kasi I think some of the alumni andito nanonood,” he said. “They’re really watching you kung makakapag-perform ka ng maganda.”
But that hardly showed with how he started. Maliksi fired 13 points in the first quarter alone, setting the tone for the Bolts’ eventual 106-93 win.
He went on to finish with 23 points on 50-percent shooting from the floor, on top of seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
“Luckily, all the shots went in during the first quarter,” the 35-year-old winger offered shortly after the match. “But second medyo struggle na, but I was still trying to be aggressive offensively and make the right plays.”
“Nung medyo pa-ano na, good decision making na lang in terms of our offense and defense,” he continued.
It was indeed a sweet homecoming for Maliksi, who went nostalgic as he got to play in UST once again after a long time.
Of course, he met familiar faces as well, including none other than coach Pido Jarencio, whom he met for a while before their game versus Ginebra.
“Masarap lang maglaro ulit. Masarap makabalik dito sa UST. It is a nostalgic feeling,” said the 12-year vet, who played for the Growling Tigers in 2009.
“‘Yung excitement to come back and play here, syempre, a lot of memories that I built here when I was in college and I was a student-athlete here. Sarap.”
