The past few months have been a downer for Raymond Almazan.
From his removal from the Gilas Pilipinas pool for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers’ second window, to facing off-the-court issues, to allegedly having issues with Rain or Shine Road Warriors coaches, the 28-year-old has been through a lot.
And it also doesn’t help that Almazan and the Elasto Painters’ 2018 Philippine Cup campaign came to an end on Wednesday evening, following their 99-91 loss to Barangay Ginebra, where he had 14 points and 13 boards.
But for the Bataan native, he doesn’t want those issues to drag him down, and he now looks forward for better days.
“Just think positive and stay positive lang. Alam ko na yun eh. Gaya nga ng sabi sa’min ni Coach Caloy [Garcia], just be professional about it,” said Almazan, quoting his head coach when the latter spoke about rumors last February.
“So next conference, hopefully… Alam mo yun? Stress-free, wala masyadong iniisip,” the six-foot-eight slotman admitted.
“Dumadaan sa buhay ng tao yung ganun eh. Basta ako ilalaro ko lang yung laro ko next conference.”
Almazan, who averaged 8.10 points and 5.80 rebounds this conference, also expressed desire to return to the Gilas pool, who have now entered the World Cup Qualifiers’ second round.
“Sana makabalik ako sa pool. Gustong-gusto ko na maglaro ulit,” he said.
Now, Almazan is keen on helping the Elasto Painters prepare better for the next conference that is the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, which they last won back in 2016 when coach Yeng Guiao was still at the helm.
“Isipin na lang namin yung next conference. Bawi na lang kami,” said the fifth-year pro.
“Lumaban naman kami eh. Wala talaga eh. Palakas na lang kami sa next conference, sana makarating na kami ng semis.”
