FOR William Navarro, it just felt good being back on the court again.
The rookie big man finally made his PBA debut for NorthPort against San Miguel in the Commissioner's Cup Wednesday night, giving him reason to smile anew after not playing competitively for quite a few months.
Navarro finished with a team-high 14 points for the Batang Pier, although a spoiler to his first game in the league was their 104-86 loss to the Beermen at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
"Masaya kasi ang tagal ko nang walang laro. Sobrang excited ako.
Thankfully, okay, okay," said the 25-year-old rookie out of Ateneo.
Until signing a two-conference deal with NorthPort, Navarro has been idle and didn't play in a game since the FIBA Asia Cup encounter between Gilas Pilipinas and Japan last July for a place in the quarterfinals.
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"At least, medyo sigh of relief na rin na nakalaro na ako, naka-contribute pa sa team," he said.
"Ang tagal ko nang walang laro," Navarro added. "Parang hindi na ako basketball player nun, e. Hindi na ako naglalaro. At least ngayon nakalaro ako."
But while Navarro managed to shake off the cobwebs, the outcome wasn't particularly pleasing as the Batang Pier got blown away by 18 points and suffered back-to-back losses to go down below the .500 mark at 3-4.
It's the kind of loss which he's not used to, given the winning culture he learned to embrace while still playing for Ateneo in college.
"Nakakahiya din tambak kami, Hindi ako sanay sa ganun, e," said Navarro in making known the competitive side of him.
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"Individually, medyo okay. But not satisfied," added the no. 2 overall pick in the special Gilas draft last year. "A loss is a loss. Bawi na lang kami next game."
NorthPort would be having a more than one-week break and won't be returning to action until Nov. 4 against Rain or Shine. (RG)
