ANTIPOLO — Jason Brickman submitted his best showing in the PBA to date in only his second game as he sparked Meralco’s streak-busting win over Phoenix to stay unbeaten in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday night.
And the veteran internationalist himself admitted that there was a conscious effort on his part to perform, wanting to bounce back after an underwhelming league debut in their conference opener against Converge three days ago.
“Had a rough first game but I was ready, you know, looking forward to this game to bounce back,” he said after their 93-86 victory at the Ynares Center here.
Easily one of the most anticipated talents to take their act to the PBA, Brickman only had three points on nine shots from the field alongside two rebounds and five assists in nearly 28 minutes in their eventual 109-88 rout of the FiberXers.
As it turns out, the 34-year-old has been nursing a groin injury, which he sustained days before their opening match, per head coach Luigi Trillo,
“He had a groin pulled days leading up to our first game,” he said.
“But we know what his caliber is, and he really showed it today. We have no doubt.”
(C) PBA Images
But the former ABL star refuses to sit out whatsoever, with Saturday night a solid proof of how much he simply wants to hoop and most especially seek some redemption of sorts after that tough first outing, which he’d find.
Brickman finished with numbers across the board, tallying 16 points on a 7-of-12 clip from the floor alongside seven rebounds and five assists in almost 30 minutes of play. And he did all without committing a single turnover.
“As Coach said, I’m dealing with a groin injury. But I’m eager to play, I don’t want to miss games,” he said. “I know all the games are important.
“The regular season is very important to get a good spot for the playoffs. I don’t want to miss any games, but I’m gonna just try to, you know, if I can play, I wanna play,” added the MPBL champion with Abra Solid North.
Thanks to his contributions, Meralco improved to 2-0 in the standings, in the process joining Rain or Shine and NLEX at the no. 2 position.
And Brickman definitely hopes that they get to win as much as they can, as the perennial contenders are aiming for a favorable spot come the playoffs.
“I think it’s important to play well in the conference. I think our goal as a team is to try to get into the Top Four, try to get the twice-to-beat advantage,” he said.
“Every game is important. We wanted to get off to a good start, and so we wanna keep it up,” he added as they’ll face the Elasto Painters on March 27.
And his groin injury, you ask?
“It’s getting better. Doing treatment. I think we have some days off, so I could get some more treatment. Hopefully, it will be okay.”
