By REYNALD MAGALLON
Barangay Ginebra forward Troy Rosario earned praise from coach Tim Cone following his stellar performance in the Kings’ 93-81 victory over the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday, Jan.5.
Rosario finished with team-high 22 points – his best offensive performance so far in Kings uniform since signing for the team during the offseason. He also got 10 rebounds to his name and fired four triples – reminiscent of his younger days in the league where he was once one of the best stretch big men.
Cone, who had pointed out in the past that Rosario’s versatility was a crucial addition to the Kings, once again hailed the 10-year veteran as an X-factor in the victory.
“He was all over the floor. He’s always been all over the floor defensively for us and on the boards and been that X-factor for us,” said Cone as Rosario finally showed flashes of his offense after contributing mostly on the defensive end in his first few games with the Kings.
“But he was also huge on the offensive side, knocking down shots, getting offensive rebounds. Troy kind of represented our performance tonight. And I thought we just really played hard,” said Cone.
With such offensive showing becoming a rarity for Rosario ever since the latter part of his career with TNT and during his tenure with Blackwater, the 32-year-old credited Ginebra’s deep lineup that allowed him to get the space to operate.
“Mas na-space out ko sarili ko kasi lahat binabantayan. Hindi alam kung sino ‘yung iiskor sa amin. In this game, I just took what the defense is giving me,” said Rosario.
“They were really clogging the paint. Binabantayan ako ni June Mar [Fajardo] or ‘yung import, talagang nilalabas ko sila kasi that was also the game plan,” he added.
It was not a secret that Rosario was a huge Ginebra fan growing up and it played a factor in his decision to sign with the Kings. Now living his dream, Rosario said he was just trying to embody everything that is about Ginebra.
“It’s been written on the board sa pregame namin. ‘Be aggressive and be the aggressor.’ Coming into this game, we know San Miguel, how big they are, how a power team they are. We have to limit our errors on the defensive end and execute our system,” said Rosario.
