LUCENA - Struggling to make an impact for Meralco in the 2019 PBA Governors' Cup Finals, Allein Maliksi wouldn't deny that there's just a lot of things in his mind.
"Marami lang iniisip. I couldn't make shots, mga open shots na hindi nahuhulog, but it's ok. Ibalik ko lang yung confidence ko sa sarili ko para pagdating sa Sunday at other games, makatulong na din ako para sa Meralco," he said.
It's been a whirlwind for the past few days for Maliksi.
For the past few days, he was anticipating for his wife Kaye to give birth to their first child and finally did on Thursday as baby Kayden came out at 4:40 a.m.
Maliksi, though, had little time to celebrate the birth of his son as he had to rush to Lucena and rejoin Meralco for Friday's Game Two clash against Ginebra.
He may not admit it, but the 32-year-old is still dealing with pregnancy brain.
And it showed on the court, with Maliksi going scoreless as he missed all of his four attempts in his six minutes on the floor for the Bolts.
Lucky for the 6-foot-4 shooter, his teammates picked up the slack and helped Meralco even the series with a 104-102 escape past Ginebra.
"Medyo struggling ako, pero thankful ako sa teammates ko na nag-step up sila at nanalo kami," he said.
Maliksi is also pressuring himself to follow suit, especially with the important Game Three already set on Sunday.
"At this moment, you can never be too down or too high. Moving on, ang focus ko sa next game na, so mag-prepare ako tomorrow, clear my mind na wala akong isipin kundi i-enjoy ko lang yung next game. Kailangan maging confident ako and maibalik ko din yung game ko and yung touches ko, finally makaconnect na din and maka-help sa team," he said.
And he'll take more pleasure for it knowing that his son will be waiting for him to come home with a victory.
"Syempre extra motivated at extra inspired ka. Alam mo yun, parang di ka napapagod. Parang pag naisip mo, mas lalo mo kailangang pagpursigihan at mas galingan," said Maliksi.
"Yun yung isang main motivation ko and it’s hard to explain maging dad and makita mo yung wife mo na mag-give birth. Sobrang inspiring and motivating noon to be at your best sa lahat ng ginagawa mo."
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