Justine Baltazar had no idea that he wound up with over 20 rebounds to his name during Converge’s eventual win over Rain or Shine on Wednesday.
The no. 1 pick of the 2024 PBA Draft plucked 22 rebounds alongside 13 points, an assist, a steal, and three blocks to help the FiberXers stretch their winning streak to three in the Season 49 Philippine Cup by way of a 107-97 victory.
“‘Yun nga eh, hindi ko in-expect din na naka-22 rebounds ako,” he told reporters moments after the match at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
(C) PBA Images
But what’s no longer surprising is the fact that he’s been playing solidly this conference. It could be recalled that he had 21 points and 12 rebounds in their 100-94 victory over TNT last Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Three nights later and he’d play a key role in leading Converge take down another semifinalist of the recent Commissioner’s Cup by coming through with what has already been his fourth consecutive double-double outing.
Such showings suggest how much ‘Balti’ has adjusted to the PBA’s style of play, and all that is thanks to his mindset of keeping things simple.
“Ano lang ako, focus lang talaga ako–one game at a time lang talaga ako eh, kung sinong kalaban namin. Wala na akong ibang iniisip,” he said.
(C) PBA Images
Thus, his surprise to have finished with 22 boards against the Elasto Painters as his focus, really, was helping defend their counterparts, particularly in slowing the game down against a foe that’s relying on speed due to a lack of bigs.
“Kasi kita niyo naman sa depensa talaga, kailangan namin ma-stop ‘yung guwardya kasi guwardya nila yung gumagawa rin eh,” he said.
“Lalo Santillan, grabe yung pukol nila sa taas,” he added, referring to his former La Salle teammate Santi Santillan, who led RoS with 26 points — 20 of which he made in the first half. “Kaya yun, depensa talaga namin ‘yung nagdala roon.”
But he won’t hide that part of his motivation to perform is to bring the FiberXers past the quarterfinals, something that the franchise has yet to accomplish.
“Alam niyo naman na quarterfinals lang naaabot namin so kailangan mahigitan pa namin ‘yun,” he said. “Kailangan namin pagtrabahuhan, double effort talaga.”
#WATCH: Justine Baltazar didn’t even realize he grabbed 22 boards vs Rain or Shine 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/lAOfYz4dl1
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 30, 2025
