IT was Javee Mocon’s way of repaying the trust Caloy Garcia has been giving him in his young career.
The rookie wingman immediately made his presence felt in his first ever PBA semifinals after leading Rain or Shine past Magnolia, 84-77, at the start of their best-of-seven series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday night.
Mocon showed the calm of a veteran as he finished with a game-high 15 points, including six in the third period when he helped the Elasto Painters turn the game around after trailing the Hotshots by as many as eight points, 41-33.
He capped his heroics by adding 10 rebounds for a double-double, while going 5-of-10 from the field.
But the former NCAA Finals MVP from San Beda said none of that would've been possible without Garcia’s belief in him.
“All thanks to him (Garcia), kasi he gave me that confidence. Throughout the eliminations, pinapasok niya ako and doon nag-build yung confidence ko,” said Mocon. “At siyempre sa help din ng mga veterans.”
Garcia earlier paid tribute to Mocon, saying “he played today not like a rookie.”
“I think when we were watching him before at San Beda, he was one of the biggest keys to their championship. Kasi kung titignan mo yung championship nila, basically it was him and (Robert) Bolick who brought the team,” said the Rain or Shine coach.
“That was the reason why we got him,” Garcia added. “We know how special he was.”
That NCAA experience also helped him get ready for this semis series, according to Mocon, especially in terms of physicality.
“Batang NCAA e, dahil sa NCAA physical talaga. Sa Beda I think doon ako nag-grow na maging ready sa playoffs dito sa PBA,” he said.
“So wala naman yun, yung physicality that’s all part of the game.”
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