Bringing a winning attitude to a young squad
The Flying V Thunder will bring in an enforcer to help boost its quest in the 2017 Foundation Cup. Bruiser Jondan Salvador, a 10 year PBA veteran, is set to join the frontline of the Thunder but is still working on his conditioning after a year-long layoff from competitive basketball.
“Sabi ko available naman ako kaso wala nga ako sa kondisyon. Inisip ko na lang na I’ll try it tapos nag-practice ako last Friday,” shared Salvador, who was sitting behind Flying V’s bench during the Thunder’s game against Gamboa Coffee Monday morning.
“Nakasabay naman ako pero wala akong hangin. Sabi ko na kay coach [Eric Altamirano], give me mga ten days, babalik ko kondisyon ko.”
At 36 years old, Salvador is a proven winner, bagging gold in the NCAA (with the College of Saint Benilde Blazers), the PBL, and the PBA (with Purefoods). However, his last stint with a pro team did not go as well as he wanted to.
“Yung huling team ko sa PBA sa Barako tapos nag ABL ako with Powervit [Pilipinas Aguilas]. Kaso nagkaproblema dun sa management kaya na-buy out kami. Sabi ko, mag-negosyo na lang ako,” the 6-foot-4 big man recalled.
“Si boss Joey [Guillermo] ang kumontak sa akin last week. Tinawagan niya ako four days ago at baka eto na yung last shot ko.”
Besides his imposing presence, the resident of Parañaque City wants to be an inspiration to his younger teammates, especially the ones who are planning to enter the Big League.
“Kailangan ihanda nila sarili nila. Yung presence ko sa team na ‘to, kaya nila ako kinuha, ay para ma-motivate sila,” the fourth overall pick in the 2005 PBA Draft said.
“Yung leadership kumbaga, mula college, PBL, to PBA, nag-champion na ako. Sana madala ko yung winning attitude sa kanila.”
Salvador is hoping that he can suit up for the Ramon Villavicencio-owned squad on Tuesday, June 13 when the Thunder take on the Wangs Basketball Couriers at 12:00nn. JR Ongteco will most likely be relegated to the reserve list.
