STUCK on the bench for the past few games in the guard-heavy rotation of Rain or Shine, Anton Asistio finally got the perfect opportunity to unravel his shooting prowess in the Elasto Painters' 123-114 overtime win over the NLEX Road Warriors on Tuesday night in the PBA Governors' Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Asistio poured in 14 of his 25 points in the first period in his biggest game of the season so far.
"For me, it's about staying aggressive. Si Coach Yeng (Guiao) naman is always giving players opportunities. Sinabi niya yan sa amin the moment he joined Rain or Shine. Ready lang ako whenever my number is called," said Asistio.
Often overshadowed by more consistent games from Adrian Nocum and Andrei Caracut, the former Ateneo guard saw his minutes diminished even more following the entry of newcomer Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti, a promising rookie guard, who has been making heads turn in the early part of his PBA career. The rookie has been inserted in the regular rotation of the Elasto Painters and made the competition for playing time a lot stiffer.
Asistio's breakout performance of the season has chopped the minutes of Caracut with the remaining time being shared mostly by Pangilinan-Lemetti and Nocum, two players who are solid playing on both ends of the court.
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"Walang problema si Andrei. Gumanda lang talaga yung laro ni Anton," said Guiao. 'Kinain niya yung playing time ni Andrei. Ganun naman talaga. Kapag maganda naman laro ni Andrei, kinakain naman yung playing time ni Anton."(RJ)
