Now in his second year, Roi Sumang is slowly proving to everyone that he belongs in the league.
Sunday evening, the Blackwater Elite managed to come out victorious over a gutsy Alaska Aces squad by a narrow margin, 103-100, at the Big Dome.
And in that hard-earned win, it was sophomore point guard Roi Sumang who stole the show.
The 5-foot-8 gunslinger finished with 19 markers off an efficient 7-of-10 shooting from the field, with ten of his output coming from the fourth quarter alone to help keep the Aces at bay.
Even Elite head coach Leo Isaac was pleased with the way he played that night.
“He’s Roi Sumang. Alam naman natin kung ano kaya niyang gawin. Tiyempo tiyempo lang. Denok [Miranda], Ael [Banal], and Nard [Pinto] did not play well,” said Isaac post-game regarding Sumang.
“He got rewarded for playing well. We’re still sticking to our rule na who performs well will be rewarded with extra minutes.”
But prior to this conference-high of his, Sumang had come off a string of notable performances for the Elite, who are currently at the fourth spot of the standings with a 5-4 card.
It all started back in December 21 against Globalport, where he scored nine in the win. Their next two matches against Mahindra and San Miguel were both losses, but he managed to put up decent 12 and 11 markers, respectively.
That string of games helped Sumang, who had an underwhelming rookie year back in 2015 with Globalport, earn the trust of the Elite. Due to the deep rotation the Batang Pier had, the 26th overall pick had had a hard time sniffing the court.
In his first year, Sumang only averaged a measly 6.7 minutes per contest. But all of those adversities can now be considered a thing of the past, as he was traded to Blackwater just last November, a breath of fresh air for him.
And that trade seems to have changed matters for the better for the diminutive gunslinger.
After tonight’s game, Sumang is now averaging 12.7 points per game, a far cry from the 3.4 markers per outing he put up last year.
But for Sumang, all of these remarkable showings are just the result of him listening to the guidance of his coaches, especially Elite head coach Leo Isaac.
“Yun lang naman sinasabi nila coach eh. Kung ano lang yung gusto mangyari nila coach, yun lang yung ginagawa namin sa game,” said Sumang moments after their win over Alaska.
Looking at Blackwater’s roster, especially among the guards, Sumang is mixed up with veterans such as Denok Miranda and Nard Pinto, making him the team’s third guard and an off-the-bench player.
Sumang, however, remains unfazed, saying that it does not matter for him whether he comes off the bench or not.
“Sa akin okay lang naman, kasi off the bench, pare-pareho lang naman kaming naglalaro.
“Hindi naman pwedeng ikaw lang ng ikaw kasi pro ka na. So para sa akin, okay lang,” the 26-year-old shared.
Now that Blackwater are in a good spot at the rankings, Sumang insists that him and the team will continue to work, given the fact that they will face Ginebra and Star in their next two matches.
“Trabaho lang ulit siguro kami sa practice. Siguro sa coming na games namin, kailangan naming manalo para makapwesto kami dito sa coming playoffs,” the former UE Red Warrior added.
Facing two heavyweight teams in Ginebra and Star will be a tough task for Blackwater, but with Sumang’s rejuvenated steadiness, things might get easier for them.
