Juan GDL remains grateful to Tokyo Z as he enters free agency

Juan Gomez de Liaño’s stint with Tokyo Z was not as ideal as he had hoped for.

Still, the 22-year-old combo guard remains grateful for the two months he spent with the team.

(C) B.League

“Thank you Tokyo Z for giving me the opportunity and opening doors for me to play in such a beautiful country,” said Gomez de Liaño.

“Thank you [Katsuyuki] Yamano san (Tokyo Z president) and Coach Hugo [Lopez].”

Back on June 23, the 6-foot guard out of University of the Philippines signed with Earthfriends for the 2021-22 B.League season.

It was a landmark signing as Gomez de Liaño  was able to be an Asian Quota Player despite having two passports — one from the Philippines and another from Spain. It was Yamano who raised to the B.League board that FIBA eligibility should be the basis of what an Asian import is.

Gomez de Liaño’s signing paved the way for his brother Javi (Ibaraki), Bobby Ray Parks (Nagoya), Dwight Ramos (Toyama), and Kobe Paras (Niigata) to be treated as Asian players in the league.

However, Gomez de Liano only saw limited minutes during his time in Earthfriends.

In 17 games played, Gomez de Liaño only played an average of 16 minutes. He normed 5.3 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per contest.

During his debut against Kagawa last October 2, he only had three minutes of court time. He was able to play 24 minutes during his last game with the team last December 4 against Aomori.

Still, Gomez de Liaño treasures every moment he spent with the team.

(C) B.League

“To my teammates as well that made the transition easy for me, I will always value friendship more than anything,” said Gomez de Liaño. He also cited the likes of Mark Burton and Joshua Crawford as some of his close friends in the team.

Gomez de Liaño was a DNP during their second game against Aomori last December 5.

After that, Gomez de Liaño no longer suited up for the team.

Now a free agent, Gomez de Liaño is looking forward to what comes next, may it be in the B.League or somewhere else.

“I learned so much despite everything that has happened and I’ll always be grateful for that.”