GETTING your baptism of fire from one PBA veteran can already leave a lasting memory.
What more when a whole team welcomes you with constant physicality?
Such moment is still fresh in the mind of Ato Ular, who made his PBA debut just in the last Philippine Cup.
Ato Ular on 'Welcome to PBA moment'
“Wala naman mismong tao. Isang team siguro: NLEX,” Ular said with a chuckle on SPIN Zoom In when asked who gave him his “Welcome to the PBA” moment.
“Lahat sila eh. Lahat ng bumantay talaga sa akin, nakaharap eh,” the Blackwater rookie sensation added. “Sila Semerad, sila Soyud, si kuya JR Quiñahan.”
Just when he probably thought he already knew what PBA physicality was like nine games into his rookie season, Ular then faced a rugged Road Warriors side of then coach Yeng Guiao.
Blackwater suffered a 98-68 beating in an Antipolo game where the Road Warriors showed the Bossing who’s the real boss early on by outscoring them, 31-2, in the first quarter.
Ular continued his impressive play by grabbing 11 rebounds, but he was held to a rare single-digit scoring game of eight points on just five attempts off the bench as Anthony Semerad, Raul Soyud, and Quiñahan took turns in defending him
“Dun ako napa…bangga, bangga, laging bangga,” the 6-foot-4 Ular recounted. “Pag kukuha akong rebound, talagang bangga.”
That’s when the 27-year-old big man out of Letran knew what real physicality in Asia’s first pro league was like – to toughen him for future battles.
“Malaking tulong yun ganun,” Ular said. “Ganun pala yung experince ng kada galaw mo, may bangga. Dapat always ready ka. Pinaghahandaan ka din nila siyempre.”
“Kaya pumasok din sa isip ko yun: kung pinaghahandaan ka nila, dapat mas pinaghahandaan mo rin sila. Ganun dapat. Hindi dapat magiging mas mababa,” he added.
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