For the first time in three years, Jason Perkins and Abu Tratter shared the same court.
The two, however, were on the opposing ends this time when Phoenix Pulse and Perkins collided with Blackwater and Tratter in the 2019 PBAPhilippine Cup Friday night at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.
Both made good accounts of themselves playing for the first time against each other with Perkins having the last laugh after the Fuel Masters ran away with a huge 114-95 victory over the struggling Elite.
The result, however, hardly mattered especially for Perkins who was just glad to finally play with his former Green Archers frontcourt partner, three years after helping the DLSU Green Archers win the UAAP Season 79 Men’s Basketball championship.
“It was fun. That’s my guy. He played a really good game. He’s fitting in well in this league and he’s got his head on straight. I’m happy to see him perform,” said the 2018 Rookie of the Year Perkins who finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
“When we’re playing, me and Abu we’re not friends, we’re not teammates. We’re just playing against each other. It’s a healthy competition so I told him he played a good game. I’m really happy to see him play hard.“
Tratter, who followed Perkins a year later as this draft’s seventh overall pick shared the same sentiment.
“Too familiar. Jason’s always been a workhorse,” said Tratter who held his own ground against Perkins with a game-high 24 points, eight rebounds, and four steals.
“So, just seeing him out there on the floor, seeing how much different his body is. It’s a true testament on how much he has sacrificed going into this league and I respect his game. Me and Jason have always been cool. It was fun and laughter, but at the end of the day, it’s good competition.”
Unknown to everybody, both former teammates could have been reunited at Phoenix in this year’s draft especially after Tratter had long been on the radar of the squad as its looming fourth overall pick prior to the 2018 PBA Annual Rookie Draft.
The Road Warriors, then, tapped Tratter as their seventh overall pick before being traded anyway to Blackwater along with the surprise fourth pick Paul Desiderio in place of rising star big man John Paul Erram.
Perkins though had no regrets in that missed opportunity of having Tratter as his frontcourt tandem for the Fuel Masters.
“Not at all. Everything happens for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, Abu is a good player. But we got Alex and Dave so we have no regrets,” said Perkins.
Tratter, on the other hand, said that he just wanted to make a mark regardless of which team he landed at and that is Blackwater now where he was given the huge responsibility of serving as their prime slotman following the departure of Erram.
“I just wanted to make sure that I made an impact.
“Ever since the draft, I was telling myself I needed to work hard to show these people something they should regret,” he said. “Coming to this game, I was driven. Unfortunately, the game didn’t go the way I wanted to. I wanted to make a statement.”
True enough, Tratter just did like that with another good outing to serve as the constant silver lining in Blackwater’s dismal 1-3 start.
The 6-foot-6 Tratter is norming 15.5 points on 59 percent shooting, on top of 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in his first four games as a pro, luring huge praises from head coach Bong Ramos.
“Siya yung pinaka-consistent. Ano yan, hindi lang kasing laki ni Erram pero he’s very athletic,” said Ramos on his rookie big man.
“Tsaka coachable, mabait. Nakikinig, nagfa-follow talaga. Never kang makakarinig diyan ng reaction na naiinis sa kasama. Ang galing ng pagpapalaki sa kanya ng magulang niya. Ayos.”
