ST. BENILDE coach Charles Tiu had no hesitations fielding Migs Oczon when he finally got the clearance three weeks after suffering a nasal fracture.
"He’s a big part of our team. A big part of our offense is geared towards him and his given skillset," said Tiu, expecting big things from Oczon in NCAA Season 98.
"Gusto ko siyang ipahinga pero gusto na niyang maglaro."
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Oczon, who suffered a fractured nasal bone in the opener in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup three weeks back, made instant impact in his return, firing 15 points built on four treys, on top of five assists, two rebounds, and two steals in the Blazers' 100-70 rout of Emilio Aguinaldo College on Tuesday.
It's these kinds of performances that Tiu has come to expect from the National University transferee and a fitting culmination of the 22-year-old's long wait after moving to Taft last year.
"I feel bad kasi ang tagal-tagal na niyang naghihintay maglaro. He stayed with us sa bubble, nag-sacrifice siya last season just waiting for this chance," the soft-spoken mentor shared of Oczon.
"He's the hardest worker in the team so it's nice to see him get some games also. It's good for him to get reps with the team kasi mahirap na almost three years din siyang hindi nakalaro."
Oczon is just glad for this fresh start with CSB.
"Sobrang happy ko kasi nagagawa ko yung hard work sa sport na ito and yung team naman is very caring sila. Feel ko talaga na di nila ako papabayaan," he said, quickly assimilating himself with his new Blazers peers.
"For me, I just try to play with the system. Yung system namin for me is ok siya. So tinatry ko lang talaga mag-fit in sa system ni coach Charles and gawin yung kaya kong gawin for the team."
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