Jamie Malonzo was indeed one of the reasons why NorthPort hardly felt manpower woes in its 2022 PBA Philippine Cup debut, Thursday night.
The sophomore finished with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds, along with three assists, three steals, and a block as the Batang Pier dealt Rain or Shine a 94-81 beatdown for a victorious start to their season.
He actually did not have any clue that he collected that many rebounds, which definitely helped his side so much — the team, as a whole, had 54.
“Tonight, I was just helping — helping around with the rebounds,” he said moments after the match at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“I don’t know how many I had, but, you know, I’m just going in there trying to get tips, trying tip ‘em out on other players, and just working hard inside.”
NorthPort headed into the new PBA wars with a depleted lineup, especially in its frontline. It continues to miss Greg Slaughter due to contract issues, while Troy Rike is reportedly uncertain even if he has a year left in his pact.
Key players like Paolo Taha and Jervy Cruz are out, too, as they’re still dealing with injuries. Even Chris Javier, who was signed to complete the roster, has yet to make his Batang Pier since he’s yet to reach full health.
All that is pushing Malonzo to embrace bigger responsibilities with the team that made him the second overall pick in the 2021 Rookie Draft.
“You know, just not having them, I gotta step up in there, and I gotta be big for my team,” the 6-foot-6 winger from Seattle said.
And proof of which, definitely, was his performance against the Elasto Painters, where he made the most out of the 39 minutes he was utilized.
“Well, Coach said I’ll be playing a lot of minutes. We missed a couple of bigs — Troy Rike and a couple of others, so I just wanted to go out there and fill in some shoes tonight, and get this done for my team,” he said.
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