Aljon Mariano is back in the fold for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for the forthcoming 2021 PBA Philippine Cup resumption in Pampanga.
Gin Kings team captain LA Tenorio bared the development Tuesday, indeed great news for the team keen on defending their throne.
“Aljon Mariano is back,” the veteran guard told The Game on One Sports+.
“So he’s my roommate and he’s back. So he’s back on the floor now.“
Tenorio is excited with the 29-year-old’s return after missing the Barangay’s first games as he recovered from the removal of bone spurs on his foot.
Mariano was feared to be out for the entire conference as he underwent a second surgery before the season started, according to head coach Tim Cone.
But from the looks of it, the league’s weeks-long suspension of activities when Metro Manila reverted to ECQ earlier this August came as a blessing in disguise for both the ball club and the versatile 6-foot-3 forward.
Ginebra still does not have Joe Devance and Mark Caguioa, per Tenorio. But Mariano coming back would be a solid boost to their rotation, he added.
“Very excited because we’re complete now–except Joe and Mark. But I mean, rotation-wise the missing piece for me is Aljon,” he offered.
Now entering his sixth season, Mariano will rejoin a Barangay that won two of its first four games of the all-Filipino conference.
The sudden halt definitely impacted all the teams’ rhythm but Tenorio and Co. are all looking forward to buckling down to work once more.
“Sayang lang natigil. But katulad ng sinasabi ni coach, I think this is an opportunity for us [since] everyone’s back to zero, kung baga sa conditioning and we practice on the same day at the same time together,” he said.
“Hopefully, after that break, ma-realize din naming mga players ng Ginebra na how important is every game now,” he added.
The 37-year-old is also bracing for a tough schedule ahead, which will see the league run five playdates in a week. At the same time, he believes that such may serve Ginebra well, just like in last year’s Clark bubble.
“It’s gonna be really quick playing five times in one week. Might be every other day for us because some of the teams have already played six games kami four games pa lang so expect mage-every other day kami.
“And I think it can be an advantage for us, just like last year. So hopefully makapag-adjust talaga kami agad itong five to six days of practices together. We just have to be efficient talaga,” Tenorio said.
