THERE is a new boss in town at the Abra Solid North Weavers.
His name: Jason Brickman.
In what could be another headache for rival teams in the MPBL playoffs, the PBA-bound veteran guard has finally gotten his groove playing for one of the title contenders in the 7th season of the regional league.
Just when Caloocan looked like it found an antidote for Abra's one-two-punch of Dave Ildefonso and Encho Serrano, the 33-year-old Fil-Am guard stepped up to help the Weavers seal a 74-62 win and punch a ticket to the Northern Division Finals.
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“This game is very important to us. So, everybody has to give his contribution, I found my opportunity, and there you go,” said Brickman, the seventh pick overall of the PBA’s 2025 rookie draft by the Meralco Bolts.
Abra’s 30th straight win in the current season
Meanwhile, Abra will just wait for the winner of the Pangasinan Heatwave (1-0) and San Juan Knights in the other Norther Division semis..
Caloocan showed resilience throughout the game especially in the second quarter when it threatened at 26-30. Led by Leo James Ingles and Ronnie Matias, the Batang Kankaloo came charging back from a 14-point deficit to within 55-67.
This was when Brickman began to connect on an and-one play and a three-pointer to finally silence the Caloocan fans.
“We wanted to play our defense and I am so happy our boys did well. We limited their number and I guess nobody scored in double digits for them,” said Abra coach Yong Garcia.
“Now, we just have to get rid of our weaknesses and finally get ourselves ready for the bigger games ahead,” he added.
Brickman finished with 18 points, Ildefonso and Serrano chipped 14 and 12 respectively, while Ingles and Jeff Manday paced Caloocan with 9 points.
Abra team owner Rep JB Bernos egged his players not to relax.
“We need to find ways to shake off some immaturities. As you can see, pababa nang pababa ang lamang namin. Meaning, our opponents are finding ways to defend us. Dapat masolusyunan,” said the Abra congressman.
“Remember, it’s the big boys club in the playoffs and most of the teams remaining are veterans and tough. They’ve been through countless wars and our team is still young. Di kami pwede magpakakumpyansa. Lahat ng ginawa namin nung elimination at early part ng playoffs, mababalewala if we don’t achieve our goal,” he said.
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