Given the rough, daily schedule of the 39th William Jones Cup in Taiwan plus the way Gilas Pilipinas is shuffling its’ lineup each and every game, it is inevitable that some players will find it tough to sustain their rhythm.
But not for the gunslinging duo of Almond Vosotros and Von Pessumal.
Vosotros, the diminutive point guard from La Salle, was hardly used by Gilas in the last seven games. The six-foot-two Pessumal, on the other hand, was able to sniff the court in three of their previous seven outings.
Obviously, they never had the chance to play alongside each other. But come Saturday afternoon against India, Vosotros and Pessumal finally graced the court of the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium together.
And the two did not waste the opportunity given to them by head coach Chot Reyes.
The young cadets earned a rousing 101-70 victory over India, reviving their hopes of bagging home a medal. And in the win, Vosotros and Pessumal made their presence felt, much to the joy of their fellow Cadets.
Both cagers produced 14 markers apiece, spiked by four triples each. Pessumal waxed hot in the second frame, while Vosotros’ moment came midway into the final frame, where he produced all of his baskets.
“Von and Almond played great today. I’m happy to see those guys perform well,” lauded Matthew Wright.
“They weren’t active for days, but they came in and produced. That shows how talented our team is.”
Saturday was Vosotros and Pessumal’s day. But for them, they just showed that they will heed the call when their number is called.
“I’m just being ready all the time,” said the 27-year-old, five-foot-10 Vosotros, a full-time national team player.
“I’m so thankful to the coaches for giving me the opportunity to play.”
“I’m just being ready every time, no matter what,” said Pessumal on the other hand. “I’ll never know what the coach is thinking, so I have to be ready if I come in the game — if somebody might get hurt, if somebody might get tired, we’ll never know.
“My mindset is to just be ready.”
As the cadets face Iran in their final assignment in the tourney, Pessumal only has one thing in mind, whether or not he will play: to win.
“We have to win. We have to finish strong. We had a good run here in the Jones Cup. We’re a young team, but we got five wins already. We have to finish strong,” said the soft-spoken former Atenean.
“No excuses for tomorrow against Iran.”
