New NLEX import Cameron Clark didn’t have the kind of PBA debut he would’ve wanted, but still did well enough to leave head coach Yeng Guiao happy.
The champion mentor was satisfied with how the 30-year-old performed even as the twice-to-beat Road Warriors got dragged into a do-or-die situation by a motivated Alaska in the 2022 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, Wednesday.
“I’m happy,” said Guiao moments after the 79-93 loss at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m happy with the way he played.”
Brought in to replace KJ McDaniels, Clark finished with 25 points on a 45-percent clip from the field and 16 rebounds in nearly 43 minutes.
Guiao, though, said that the Oklahoma Sooner is still trying to adopt the role of a PBA import, for he’s used to team-oriented play after spending his pro career in Europe that saw him play in Italy, France, Turkey, Israel, and Germany.
“We’re not looking for the type of contributions that KJ gave us. KJ would actually dominate physically, ‘no, ‘yung laro. But this guy, he’s a system player.
“He’s more system-oriented. He passes the ball, he runs the plays, he’s not too much on iso — actually kaya lang siya naga-iso dahil sinasabihan naming kailangan ka mag-iso rito,” said the straightforward tactician.
“But European style is usually a lot of ball movement, a lot of patterns, so mas sanay siya roon. Once he understands what his role is, I think he’ll play even better. I’m happy with his performance,” he added.
Clark did show that assertiveness expected from imports when he poured 18 of his points in the first half, together with seven rebounds.
But he was not able to rack up more points in the next 24 minutes, only mustering a total of seven. Guiao, however, took responsibility for that, admitting that he and the Road Warriors should’ve given him more opportunities.
So, that would be one of the many lessons they’d be bringing for Saturday’s match, as they try to boot out Alaska and reach the semis.
“He had 25 points and 16 rebounds. The only thing is, partly our fault, he did not get enough touches in the second half,” he said.
“I think ano lang siya, seven points and that’s not enough for an import. But that’s not totally his fault, because we did not look for him, we did not find him. So, that’s a lesson for us to bring to Saturday’s game.“
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