Tony Bishop admitted that it initially felt weird wearing a Ginebra jersey knowing that he figured into big battles against the team.
The 32-year-old forward is recalled by most PBA fans clad in orange and blue being Meralco’s reinforcement in the 2021-22 Governors’ Cup, whose Finals saw the crowd darlings assert their mastery of the Bolts in six games.
“Yeah, it’s a little bit weird,” he said, smiling.
“‘Cause when you have battled against somebody in the Finals, you really want to get that win. A lot of high tensions going up against guys in the playoffs.”
It came as a surprise to him, too, when his agent informed him that Ginebra was inquiring for his services in the wake of Justin Brownlee’s doping case in the 19th Asian Games that floats a big cloud of uncertainty on his status.
Surprised in a good way, of course, he eventually agreed after learning of the situation, later on flying out to Manila after wrapping up his stint in Mexico.
“Yes, I was surprised. When I got the phone call from my agent, I was like, ‘Who’s calling me right now?'” he recalled.
“I didn’t know the situation, I didn’t know what had happened. but once I learned about everything, I was happy. For sure I wanna play with those guys.”
Friday night finally saw him wear the Ginebra red and like how good it looked on him, he fit in seamlessly as well with his new team.
Bishop finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Kings past Converge, 100-84, for a successful start to their Commissioner’s Cup title defense bid.
Needless to say, he’s glad to have settled into his new home as it gave him a newfound respect for the powerhouse squad.
“Being on this side, I got so much respect for everybody on this team,” he said moments after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Now that I’m here, I get to see the other side of how great these guys are, how good they are on offense and defense, and how much love they have for each other,” added the American-born Panamanian.
“I’m glad to be here.”
(C) PBA Images
The feeling is mutual for Ginebra, with head coach Tim Cone beyond optimistic with the potential of Bishop fitting in with the team — so much so that he sees flashes of Sean Chambers on him in terms of work ethic.
“He has a high basketball IQ. He works really hard in practice every day, he wins all of our drills. He kind of reminds me of a little bit of Sean Chambers in practice. Sean would never lose a drill either,” he said.
“He’d come to work every day in practice and it carries over to the game. Players see that in practice. That gives them confidence in the game. I think he has a potential to be a really, really good fit for us. But again, it’s a work in progress.”
Now it’s about continuing the efforts to make the partnership work, especially with a huge test coming up on Sunday against Magnolia in another Clasico duel.
It will be Bishop’s first taste of the rivalry but the Hotshots are no longer strangers to him, having beat them in the 2021 Governors’ Cup semis.
“They have a great team over there, they have great size, they have a deep team. They are able to push out on the break, they are able to get rebounds, play defense, and be aggressive,” he said.
“I remember those guys, I played against them in the semifinals when I was in Meralco so I know it’s gonna be a tough game, I know it’s not gonna be easy, we have to come out and play our game and play aggressive and play together.”
