THE roar of the jampacked crowd inside the newly built Caloocan Sports Complex reminded Keith Jensen of what made him fall in love with basketball in the Philippines in the first place.
Although playing for the visiting CLS Indonesia side which was dealt an 84-67 beating by Alab Pilipinas last Wednesday night, Jensen certainly felt the love from the Filipino fans.
“Man, it’s been an amazing journey back here. I really appreciate the Filipino fans and how warm they are and how supportive they are. It feels like home and it feels good,” said the Fil-American forward, who had a relatively quiet night with just six points in 22 minutes.
Like many Filipinos who have resurrected their careers through the Asean Basketball League (ABL), the former first-round pick of Ginebra (at eighth overall) in the 2012 PBA draft reiterated his desire to make a PBA comeback if given the chance.
Magnolia still holds the rights to the 6-4 forward after being traded from GlobalPort in a four-man deal that also involved Yousef Taha, Ronald Pascual and Jonathan Uyloan, but he didn’t play a single minute for the popular franchise as he had to go back to the US owing to 'personal reasons.'
Jensen, 30, said he'd love an opportunity to play with the Hotshots.
“I would love to play in the PBA again. Especially with Magnolia. It’s just a matter of things in my life lining up with my work in America and my family. I got my fingers crossed,” Jensen said.
Magnolia team manager Alvin Patrimonio had told SPIN.ph that the team is open to welcoming Jensen back to the fold which will add even more length and versatility to the Hotshots who recently made their return to the Finals in the Philippine Cup.
“Pag ready na ulit siya sa PBA, andito naman ang Magnolia Hotshots,” Patrimonio said.
It’s something that Jensen would definitely love to do in the near future.
“I would love to play for Magnolia. I miss the Philippines, I miss the PBA and we’ll see if we can make it work.”
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