ADRIAN Nocum excelled in his first game in the PBA for Rain or Shine on Wednesday against a traditional league powerhouse in San Miguel.
Nocum wound up with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field while grabbing three rebounds - a silver lining in Rain or Shine’s fifth successive defeat, 115-110, at the hands of the Beermen.
Nocum played his first game midway in the conference as he had to finish his commitment with San Juan in the MPBL, where the Knights reached the Northern Division finals before being ousted by the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.
He officially became part of the team when he signed a two-year deal a few days ago, but has been practicing with the Elasto Painters after being drafted last in the second round, at 24th overall.
The former Mapua standout, who won the Rookie of the Year award in the ongoing MPBL season, said he was up for the challenge of facing the Beermen.
“Sarap sa feeling na makalaro lalo na San Miguel kaagad ang kalaban. Mga beterano. Binigay ko lang ‘yung best effort ko. ‘Yun naman ang sinasabi sa amin ni coach,” said six-foot guard.
Nocum got his ‘Welcome to the PBA’ moment very early when San Miguel player Jericho Cruz hit him in the face at the 1:35-mark of the first quarter after scoring six points in the period.
He was quick to shake it off.
“Okay lang naman. Sanay din naman ako sa ganung pisikalan,” said Nocum.
Nocum was surprised to still be in the game at crunch time going up against Chris Ross, one of the top defensive guards in the league. Nocum revealed Ross also tried to intimidate him in the match.
“Sinasabi niya sa akin wala na ako sa college ballgame kasi pine-pressure ko siya. Okay naman din,” said Nocum.
Only teammate Keith Datu (16) and Ricci Rivero (15) of Phoenix had more points off the bench in his PBA debut than Nocum, according to the research of PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.
Despite the positives, Nocum also recognizes that he still needs a lot to improvement especially after the experiencing the grinding pressure in the endgame.
“Decision-making lalo na ‘yung last," he said when asked what he needs to work on. "Isang iglap lang eh, pagpasa kay [Marcio] Lassiter, libre. Ako ‘yung nasa top kanina.
"Kailangan ‘yung mga decision-making, mas lalong tumalino sa court. Nagulat ako na first game ko, ako ‘yung nasa crucial. Kailangan mas lalo kong pag-aralan ‘yung mga ganung sitwasyon."
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