Tom Vodanovich is very much open to the possibility of becoming Converge’s resident import now that he has finally played for the young ball club.
The Tall Blacks mainstay has long been on the radar of Aldin Ayo way before he began his PBA head coaching career and he only vindicated the mentor’s choice after impressing in what turned out to be his only game with the FiberXers — yet.
Brought in to replace Jamaal Franklin, the 28-year-old finished with 39 points and 10 rebounds albeit in a 121-105 loss to San Miguel in the quarterfinals.
“We’ve talked back and forth for a couple of months now. This club’s great, talking to Coach Franco [Atienza] for a while, he’s awesome, Coach Aldin [Ayo] was great, yea, it’s something I’ll definitely look into,” he said.
“That was great, my short time that I had here. We’ll see what happens in the future, for sure,” added the New Zealand Tall Blacks stalwart.
No less than Ayo disclosed his plan to make Vodanovich as their resident import, even going as far as saying that he’d ride with him in a conference like the Commissioner’s Cup, which features imports under 6-foot-10.
“Makakakuha naman pala ng import na ii-score ng 39 points na hindi palagi sa kaniya yung bola, kaya naman palang ganoon eh,” he said.
“If you’re going to check that stats, he scored 39 points, 10 rebounds without turnovers. Makakakuha naman pala ng import na magse-set lang ng screen, nandoon sa weak side, and yung character, laban lang. Kaso late na eh.
“Pero may window sana kami diyan eh, noong Commissioner’s Cup, alam ko na 6-foot-5 or below 6-foot-6 si Tom, pero kahit yung import mga 6’10, kaya nito eh,” he continued.
But aside from the character and skillset, what made Ayo so convinced of Vodanovich is how he could be integral in the team’s development.
“That’s why I talked to the management, actually in front of the team, kung makakabalik siya, we’re planning to make him our resident import kasi not only na magpe-perform, kundi matututo pa yung mga locals namin sa kanya.
“On how he approaches the game and yung skillset, yung experience niya na mai-impart sa mga young bigs namin, malaking bagay yun,” he said.
Vodanovich, for his part, would have wanted to stay and play longer with Converge but is nonetheless proud of the fight his teammates showed.
“It’s a sad feeling. I know these guys worked really hard to get here. Just talking about losing in the quarterfinals is the worst feeling,” he said.
“For me to come in and play with these guys, and see the passion and the fight they had to try and get it done, it’s really upsetting for sure. I would have loved to stay here and keep going for the rest of this conference,” he added.
“The way these guys played … yeah, it’s tough, but I’m proud of these guys and the way they fought. On to the next.”
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