He may be just 5-foot-8 with a skinny frame, but Paolo Pontejos’ skill set and style of play goes way beyond his build.
The Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers were up against the Racal Tile Masters — the league leaders with an unscathed 5-0 slate — on Monday evening.
Heading into the clash, the rolling Racal were expected to go up 6-0 and solidify their grip of the top spot. It was even seen during the game itself, as they thrashed the Heavy Bombers, 29-9, early in the second frame.
However, JRU had other things in mind. A better JRU came out in the next half, making the necessary stops and draining much-needed buckets in the third canto to end the period into a 52-all deadlock. But that surge didn’t stop there.
The Heavy Bombers lagged in the fourth, 59-52, but the backcourt duo Teytey Teodoro and Pontejos, as they have done in the NCAA, joined hands to lift JRU and keep Racal at bay. The two combined for 17 markers — 10 from Pontejos — en route to a 77-75 victory.
“Siguro take charge na rin,” said Pontejos, who finished with 16 points, six dimes, and four boards, regarding his takeover moment.
“Kasi minsan yung plays namin, ‘di nagko-connect. So parang instinct na namin yun na kailangan mag-step up kami — take over, ganun, sa laro.”
The JRU alumnus has a penchant for taking matters into his own hands during his collegiate days, and it was seen early in this year’s Aspirants’ Cup in their match against AMA. He lifted and tried to will his team to victory with 19 points, but they fell short and bowed, 69-61.
But now that his efforts did not go to waste, the Laguna native is nothing but elated as JRU have finally made it back into the win column and are now sporting an even 3-3 slate.
“Big win ‘to para sa’min kasi talo kami sa Victoria [Sports], which is sayang. Angat sana kami sa standings kahit papaano. Sana ito na yung start namin. Magsunod-sunod na rin,” hoped Pontejos.
It has been a notable conference for the 25-year-old so far. And for Pontejos, his desire to put up showings like this stems from his aim to put pro scouts on notice once more after not being able to fully turn pro in the 2016 PBA Draft. He was drafted by Mahindra in the fifth round, but unfortunately, he was not signed.
“Siguro parang second chance [itong stint na ‘to] para maabot yung dream sa PBA, so inaayos ko yung sa D-League ngayon,” said Pontejos.
