Eric Camson can finally hold his head high now that Terrafirma is in the midst of what has been a fruitful PBA Governors’ Cup campaign thus far.
The Dyip on Thursday collected their second win in four games after taking down Blackwater through a 119-106 decision, big thanks to the Herculean efforts of import Jordan Williams that saw him erupt for 57 markers.
“Unbelievable,” he told Tiebreaker Times moments after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. “Namiss ko yung feeling na ‘to. Kasi nagawa namin t’o before dun sa [Bacolor] bubble, ‘yung three straight wins namin.Â
“Kahit pagod, ang sarap umuwi sa pamilya. At least may ipagmamalaki na kami sa mga nakakasalubong namin na ang Terrafirma’y hindi na basta-basta.”
Much of the attention was on the 32-year-old reinforcement but Camson did his part in securing the win, scoring nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter that saw him nail crucial buckets to keep the Bossing at bay.
He shot 7-of-10 from the field, and also garnered nine rebounds for a near-double-double, together with an assist, a steal, and a block.
“It’s a big help kasi Eric is a smart player. Even though ‘yung size niya maliit, pero he’s a smart player. When he enters the court he’s a big man. Even though he’s 6’4″, he’s like a 7-footer ‘pag nag-isip ‘yan,” said coach Johnedel Cardel.
Such an outing was essentially a continuation of his solid play for Terrafirma. It was the third game in a row where he finished in double-figure scoring.
Before tallying 18 versus San Miguel the last time out, Camson made 13 markers and 10 caroms in their breakthrough win against Meralco last January 28, including the dagger in the final seconds to deliver the 96-88 decision.
The Adamson product is now averaging 14.25 points and 7.5 boards after Thursday’s affair. And all that are simply the by-product of him stepping up, especially with Aldrech Ramos not at maximum health.
“Siguro kaya ko nakukuha yung ganung stats, ganung opportunity, kokonti lang kami sa ngayon na bigs na nagaano. Aldrech is not a hundred percent, pero from time to time andyan naman siya lagi,” he said.
“So as kuya, as beterano sa team, kailangan kong punan yung shoes ng ibang mga bigs na nasa amin,” he furthered.
Add to that the trust of no less than Cardel and the entire Dyip. “Talagang thankful ako kay Coach John, so sabi ko ima-maximize every time na bigyan ako ng time ni Coach John, ng mga coaches.
“Tapos tiwala ng mga teammate, ima-maximize ko every game, every opportunity,” the 10-year pro continued.
Terrafirma is now off to its best Governors’ Cup start since going 2-2 as well in the 2019 edition and Camson hopes that they can sustain their winning ways.
“Frankly speaking, sobrang taas ng moral namin. May mga team na hindi nananalo; kami in the early games, in the first four games, andito agad kami sa standing na ‘to,” he said as the Dyip are at no. 7 in the standings.
“Hindi na kami naghihintay ng five to six games para manalo … kailangan lang namin i-continue ‘yung winning attitude and ‘yung effort namin, kailangan andun lagi. Sabi nga namin lahat ito na ‘yung chance natin e, di natin bibitawan ‘to.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
