'Forgotten man' Raymundo eyes resurgence under Chua's system

KERBY Raymundo is coming off career-lows in points, rebounds and minutes played in the recent PBA Philippine Cup, but the 6-foot-6 Barangay Ginebra slotman is confident the Commissioner’s Cup would be a whole new ballgame for him and the Kings under new coach Alfrancis Chua.

Raymundo, who turned 32 on Saturday, believes he still has what it takes to help the Gin Kings achieve their goal of ending a four-year title-less spell in Chua's debut conference as head coach after taking over from Siot Tanquingcen.

“Sa play ni coach Al, ini-involve niya ang mga big men saka binibigyan niya kami ng pagkakataon na dumiskarte,” Raymundo told Spin.ph.

While he sat on the bench when Barangay Ginebra lost to ABL club San Miguel Beer in their tune-up game on Friday, Raymundo knows he is shape to keep pace with the free-wheeling, up-tempo style of play that Chua has introduced to the team.

“Kaya ko pa saka kundisyon pa ako. Kaya ko pa makipagsabayan sa pagtakbo,” added the former Letran star center, who skipped the team’s practice for about a week after the death of his father in Orion, Bataan.

Raymundo admitted he may not have adjusted well to the system of Tanquingcen, the reason he became almost a forgotten man at Ginebra the past few conferences.

It only got worse in the recent Philippine Cup, where Raymundo saw his minutes drop to just 13.31 a game as his averages fell to 6.23 points and 3.31 rebounds - both career lows.

Though Ginebra's frontline just got more crowded following the arrival of 6-10 import Herbert Hill, Raymundo remains confident he’ll be playing a bigger role this time as he slides to his natural four-spot for the Gin Kings.

He also is confident of getting enough touches at the post, his comfort zone, when the Kings go to their half-court sets.

“Natural four talaga ako, yun ang komportableng posisyon ko. Maganda talaga yung ini-involve kaming mga big men. So mas may chance ako makatulong sa team,” he said.

source: spin.ph

“Natural four talaga ako, yun ang komportableng posisyon ko. Maganda
talaga yung ini-involve kaming mga big men. So mas may chance ako
makatulong sa team,” he said.

Dati kasi pinageexperimentuhan sha ni coach sioty, gawing sentro ba nama Basta bawasan mo kasi ang mga TO's mo, sakit sa mata eh