 |
| File photo |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--From a player looking for an identity in his first four years in the PBA, Alex Mallari finally found a home in Mahindra, getting career-high averages six games into the Philippine Cup.
A testament to his resurgence was his 23-point, 11-rebound, four-assist, four-steal, and one-block explosion against Blackwater in an overtime win on Christmas night at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, which was enough for him to be named the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week on Boxing Day. The scoring barrage tied his career-high.
So how did the 6-foot-4 guard find his A-game that was able to beat Phoenix's Matt Wright, Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar, Rain Or Shine's Jewel Ponferada, and Blackwater's Mac Belo for the weekly citation?
"I just keep attacking, and we're trying to implement the Houston Rockets style of offense, that is, get some early shots going," Mallari bared.
So far, Mallari averages 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 block a night this conference, already far cries from his previous career-high averages of 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.5 steal, and 0.3 block a game two seasons ago when he was still with Star.
For the southpaw, however, there is still more work to be done.
"[The Elite] were trying to [force me to go right]. I kept making some bad turnovers in the right. I gotta work my mid-range game for sure," Mallari continued.
Good thing for him, the Floodbusters' Christmas break will last for two and a half weeks, which is ample for him to improve his game with the orthodox stance.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
.jpg)
