IT WAS only a matter of time before Caloocan forward Dom Escobar got acclimated and accustomed to the MPBL's brand of basketball.
As one of the Batang Kankaloo’s premiere recruits, the Ateneo product admittedly felt quite the culture shock going from the fast-paced UAAP to the ultra-physical regional league.
Not anymore, though.
“When I first came into this league, you hear about the stereotypes about how physical it is, and every bit of that is true,” he shared with SPIN.ph. “But just like with anything new, you just have to adapt to it."
“I think we've been three months into the season, including practice and whatnot. So I think just practicing every day with the guys that we got, and then playing the games, we're getting a lot of experience in getting adapted to the style of play here."
Escobar turned in his strongest showing yet with 21 points, eight rebounds, and two assists in their 99-52 beatdown of Bacolod to improve to a still-spotless 6-0 standing.
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While the 6-foot-5 wing was more than happy to turn in a performance reminiscent of his time as a one-and-done Blue Eagle, he knows full well that his greatest competition remains himself.
“It feels really good just knowing that my game in college days can translate to the pros. And it's only going to get better from here on out,” he said.
“I mean, we got a lot of confidence right now, but we just have to stay grounded, stay humbled, and keep working hard because this is a very talented league. You just never know it could be someone else's day and we have the worst day.”
Blue Eagle starting to fly high once more
Aside from Escobar’s return to form, another positive for Caloocan has been the consistent play of Kymani Ladi.
“Man, it makes me very happy. You know, he's my brother. We played together at Ateneo and I'm just glad he's part of our team,” Escobar said of the 6-foot-8 big who has been his teammate for over a year now.
In their rout of the Mascarras, Ladi backstopped Escobar with 17 points, two boards, and two steals, making all but two of his attempts from the field.
Even better, his defensive presence and gravity on offense is something the Batang Kankaloo greatly benefit from each and every game.
As Escobar put it, “He makes our jobs a lot easier. He’s probably one of the tallest Filipinos in the league, so when you got a guy like that on the team, it just gives the rest of us confidence.“
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