EJ Anosike drew praise from no less than June Mar Fajardo after a solid debut that enabled San Miguel to take Game 1 of their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal battle against a familiar foe in Converge on Thursday night.
The American-Nigerian finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists against six turnovers in 35 minutes, as he showed glimpses of becoming that guy after the Beermen’s multiple switches of imports in this conference.
Anosike is technically the club’s fourth reinforcement after original choice Tauras Jogela, Shelden Mac, and Jordan Adams — the one he replaced,
“Si EJ kasi, sobrang lakas niya sa ilalim. Sobrang lakas niya sa boards,” the league’s only eight-time MVP offered during the postgame press conference of their 102-95 victory at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Anosike, 25, was brought in by San Miguel after Adams sustained a hamstring injury in their game against Rain or Shine last September 19.
As reported by Tiebreaker Times earlier, the young pro from Cal State Fullerton — the same alma mater of Marcio Lassiter — was acquired as an insurance for the 30-year-old winger should he not get healthy in time for the playoffs.
But eventually, the team opted to activate Anosike, meaning that they are moving on from Adams as imports are only allowed to be replaced once.
And based on Thursday’s game, Anosike is proving the coaches right of their decision to go with him following a solid performance, capped off by a pair of free throws with 13.1 seconds left to fend off the FiberXers’ comeback bid.
“I feel good,” he said. “It’s the first game with the team, how we got the win in Game 1. Looking forward to competing in Game 2 and keep this thing going.”
But what Fajardo likes the most is how well Anosike complements the loaded Beermen, something that the team has found challenging over the past few years most especially during import-laden conferences.
“Si Jordan naman, like, pure scorer talaga eh. Pero eto si ano, hustle player. Grabe ‘yung energy niya sa loob. Nagco-compliment din sa team,” said San Miguel’s main man. “Kailangan lang ng konting adjustments.”
