Meralco head coach Norman Black always knew that he’d get something out of Reynel Hugnatan every time he would call his number.
Proof of which was Saturday night, as he received a vintage performance from the 43-year-old that led to a victorious PBA Philippine Cup debut.
Now in his 19th season in the league, the evergreen forward dropped 17 points, all of which he made in the second half as the Bolts rallied from 16 down en route to adding to the woes of Phoenix Super LPG, 109-98.
“I thought some of my other bigs didn’t really flow well with the team, so I decided to put Rey in,” said Black, who only inserted Hugnatan in the third.
Hugnatan, though, deflected the credit to his teammates, expressing gratitude for being trusted whenever he’s on the floor.
“Credit to my teammates also na naniniwala pa rin sila sa’kin. That time na-open ako, and Coach always tells me to take that shot,” said the three-time champ, referring to the fiery third quarter that saw him drop 10 of his points there.
“Buti pumapasok kaya nag-stay siguro ako roon,” added Hugnatan, who was bestowed with Best Player of the Game honors.
Hugnatan logged a total of 16 minutes and 13 seconds, totally far from the playing time he had in the Season 46 Governors’ Cup. There, he only appeared for an average of 6.6 minutes across 12 games.
The cager from Bacolod believes, somehow, that seeing limited action in import-laden conferences has helped him stay fresh even at his age.
But really, what he’s really taking pride in is the discipline to stick to his usual routine that has been helping play at a high level at this point of his career.
“Discipline. Kumbaga kung ano ‘yung routine mo dati, stay pa rin. Kahit bihira ako pinapasok ni Coach, dapat always ready ka,” he said.
“Every practice, same pa rin ginagawa ko everyday kasi you’ll never know kailan ka tatawagin ni Coach,” he added.
“Ready lagi.”
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