Ginebra rookie Forrester vows to live up to expectations: 'I promise I’ll be there offensively ... get better everyday'

Ginebra rookie James Forrester had two points, two rebounds, one steal and three turnovers in a game where he was primarily tasked to stop San Mig guard Mark Barroca. Jerome Ascano

AFTER the biggest break of his pro career ended in an unconvincing performance, Ginebra rookie James Forrester has become even more determined to live up to expectations.

The 6-2 Fil-Canadian guard played his first game of the PBA Commissioner's Cup on Sunday night, spending nine minutes on the floor in Ginebra's 80-90 loss to sister team San Mig at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The surprise fourth pick overall of this season's rookie draft had two points, two rebounds, one steal and three turnovers in a game where he was primarily tasked to stop San Mig guard Mark Barroca who 'schooled' the rookie with one drive down the baseline in the second half.

The former Arellano Chiefs standout, however, said the exposure has only strengthened his resolve to get better and dish off performances worthy of his high draft position.

“I promise to everybody that I’ll be there offensively. I’ll get better everyday," said Forrester. "I’ll get to the point where (I’ll  give justice to) the reason why I was picked fourth overall (in the rookie draft).”

To get there, the Ginebra rookie said he will working on his game in practice while learning from the team's resident stars like Mark Caguioa, LA Tenorio and Jayjay Helterbrand.

The soft-spoken rookie, however, said he knows it will take time before he gets his confidence on offense, considering he has made just short appearances in 11 games in his freshman year.

“Offensively, it is still taking a lot to get to the flow of the PBA game,” said Forrester, who also draws inspiration from several online campaigns clamoring for his regular exposure during Ginebra games.

Forrester is also confident Ginebra, now 1-2 (win-loss) with under-fire Leon Rodgers as import, will eventually hit top form once it succeeds in putting its game together.

“It’s just the grittiness we need in rebounding, the grittiness we need to find with this unit because talent-wise there’s no issue,” added the 24-year-old freshman guard.

Ginebra hopes to snap out of a two-game slide when it goes up against winless GlobalPort on Friday in the main game of a double-header at the Cuneta Astrodome.