Alex Mallari started his pro career with a winning franchise, the Star Hotshots. In his first two years in the league, he was able to win four championships with the Hotshots, including a rare grand slam.
However, the Filipino-American guard was shipped to the Mahindra Floodbuster during the off-season, and picked up just four wins during his short stint with the team. He was then traded to the NLEX Road Warriors, another franchise that has struggled to rack up wins, earlier this month.
The Road Warriors’ dismal 2017 Commissioner’s Cup run ended last Wednesday, but they made sure to end it with a bang as they weathered a Matthew Wright explosion to upend the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Moreover, NLEX’s win over the Fuel Masters marked their first winning streak this season.
And no one from the Road Warriors side was more elated than new acquisition Alex Mallari, who, prior to joining NLEX, had had his own fair share of strings of losses with former team Mahindra Floodbuster.
“I missed winning.
“It’s something good to build on. We see where we can thrive and take advantage on, either offense or defense. We’re not gonna think about these games, but at least we got two wins,” said a beaming Mallari moments after their 116-114 win at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, where he even topbilled for the Road Warriors with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Mallari, who will end his conference averaging 11.3 per contest, has just played his third game with his new team. But adjustments are not an issue to him, as he is currently savoring the level of playing experience that the NLEX players have.
“It’s good, you know, with all due respect to Mahindra, there’s more experience over here.
“Not just players, but the coaches. It’s good to be with much better [guys], for sure,” said the third overall pick of the 2012 Draft.
Now that the Road Warriors’ sights are set on the season-ending 2017 Governor’s Cup opening over a month from now, Mallari and his team hope that they can bring themselves up as solid contenders in the league.
“Hopefully we can make some noise next conference,” Mallari admitted.
