By Ivan Saldajeno
SAN JUAN, MM--After missing out the previous two UAAP season, Kris Porter is savoring his return to play in the FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup, and on Friday night, he posted his best game so far by tallying 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in Ateneo's win against Adamson.
[Related Story: Ateneo sizzles late to trample Adamson in FilOil seniors match]
For the returning forward, he has his teammates to thank for the college career renaissance.
"It's good that my teammates challenged me in practice. I owe my performance today to them," Porter said to the media people after getting the better of the 84-75 result.
Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga, who sat in for Head Coach Tab Baldwin with the latter having to leave early to attend to errands later Friday, added, "Kris is one of our dependable bigs. He's got a good post-up game and a good outside shot. His three-point shot is nothing new to us. The good thing about our bigs is that they're working hard and they're pushing each other. I'm happy that Ports is getting some recognition. We're looking forward for more consistency from our bigs."
But despite "Ports" tallying a game-high in dimes for a guard-loaded roster, both him and Arespacochaga downplayed the possibility of a different role for him this year and insisted that it was teamwork that worked wonder for the Blue Eagles.
"[Our win] wasn't because the coaches were grooming me to be a point forward. If my teammates didn't cut to what they were supposed to go, I wouldn't have been able to give the ball to them where they were. They wouldn't have been able to take those shots. It's all part of the system. I'm just happy we were able to run the system properly," Porter said.
"We're hoping, however, that assists from the big men will be regular for us," Arespacochaga added.
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