Justin Chua has been a solid presence for the Meralco Bolts in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup, and on Saturday night, all his efforts paid off, as he had one of his career’s most memorable moments.
The Bolts deployed a balanced attack in their 99-91 victory over the Alaska Aces, with all five starters scoring in double figures. Among them was Chua, who scored 14 markers on a decent 5-of-10 shooting.
But it wasn’t just an ordinary 14-point output for the 6-foot-6 big man. It has now become his career-high, eclipsing the 12 points he had made back in 2013 during his rookie year with Globalport in the process.
Averaging just 3.8 points and 2.2 boards in their first five games, Chua’s scoring norm will skyrocket after Saturday night. As he is now starting to realize his potential, Chua has no one to thank but his former coach in Ateneo.
“Nagte-thank you ako kay coach Norman kasi nagtitiwala siya sa akin, nagpasalamat din ako na nakapag-produce din sa wakas,” said the 27-year-old moments after the tiff.
“Lagi niyang sinasabi sa akin na kaya ka nasa starting line-up para makatulong kay Alex [Stepheson], spacing sa floor. So yung mindset ko talaga ay makatulong sa team, ayun suwerte naman.”
Now that he has shown what he can provide for the Bolts, Chua hopes that he can sustain these kinds of outings on a consistent basis.
“Hopefully tuloy-tuloy na, hopefully maka-produce pa rin and makatulong sa team,” he stated.
“Kahit rebounds na lang, basta makatulong.”
