After several 5-on-5 and 3×3 forays abroad, Juan Gomez de Liaño returned to Philippine club basketball – back to Marinerong Pilipino.
And he plans to use this PBA D-League Aspirants Cup side gig as a platform to boost his stock to get more interest from the international leagues.
“This is an opportunity for me to just showcase my skills, my talents, and what I’m capable of doing on the court,” said the 22-year-old Gomez de Liaño.
“Right now, really just patiently waiting wala pang offers. Received a few interests but nothing final or official yet.”
The 6-foot guard displayed his all-around skillset right away in the Skippers’ first game in the tournament. He dropped 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists against seven turnovers, to defeat APEX Fuel-San Sebastian, 86-74.
Prior to returning to the country, the 22-year-old combo guard had stints in Japan B.League Division II team Earthfriends Tokyo Z and ABL club team CLS Knights on the 5-on-5 setup.
He also played for Platinum Karaoke in ABL 3×3, as well as Zamboanga Valientes in the 2022 Thai Super League 3×3 tournament.
Photo by Alex Anng/BBM Viking Warriors
“All of those tournaments really helped me a lot in terms of my overall game. Really just becoming more mature and understanding the game even more,” said Gomez de Liaño.
But despite him being straight on his intentions of going back out to the international arena, it does not mean that he will take this Marinerong Pilipino campaign lightly.
And he’s setting his eyes on giving the Skippers their first-ever title in the league.
“I think this is the right time for us to finally get one. I think we really have a big chance in this tournament.”
