By REYNALD MAGALLON
A handful of PBA veterans are getting a second wind to their respective careers in the ongoing 2024 PBA Philippine Cup – a resurgence TNT head coach Chot Reyes believes was brought by the challenge from the influx of young talents across the league.
With the young bloods taking the league by storm, the veterans are refusing to be outdone as veterans Beau Belga, Mark Barroca, and Ian Sangalang all enjoy a stretch of stellar games so far in this conference.
“Two things – challenge and conditioning. So the veterans are seeing the challenge from the young ones and they’re doing extra work in their conditioning and we are seeing that in the games,” Reyes commented.
Reyes’ ever reliable veteran big man Kelly Williams was the latest to catch the resurgence, putting up a vintage performance of 17 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Phoenix which somehow also got a solid showing from its own veteran leader in RJ Jazul.
Williams, the second oldest player in the league at 42, just recorded his second double-double showing this conference while the 38-year-old Jazul had a pair of games where he scored more than 19 points and drilled at least five triples in each.
Aside from the two, Beau Belga, 37, has been relishing the best offensive stretch of his career, highlighted by a triple-double of 25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
“We know everyone in the league now is paying extra attention to their nutrition to their off-court work, really improving on their conditioning. That’s what we’re seeing now, the influx of young blood has been very good for the league,” said Reyes.
The 38-year-old Barroca and 31-year-old Sangalang, meanwhile, have been taking turns in leading Magnolia during its four-game win streak. Barroca had a career-high tying 27 points in a win over Phoenix while Sangalang had a career-best scoring of 32 points over NorthPort.
Then there’s the twin towers of Christian Standhardinger, 34, and Japeth Aguilar, 37, remaining solid for Ginebra and Marcio Lassiter, 36, shooting lights out for San Miguel.
“That challenge is forcing the vets to really up theirs, not their game but their conditioning because we all know they are skilled wala namang question sa skill,” said Reyes.
“These guys are skilled, that’s why they are still here: Kelly, Beau, Mark, Jayson (Castro), C-Stand, Japeth. There’s no question about their skills so they are all upping their condition that is brought about by the challenge seeing all the young blood coming in,” the veteran mentor explained.
