RAIN or Shine coach Caloy Garcia considers Javee Mocon as the steal of the draft, and the former San Beda star did not disappoint, helping the Elastopainters victory in their opening game in the PBA Philippine Cup against NLEX on Friday.
Mocon contributed 13 points and five rebounds in Rain or Shine’s 96-87 win over NLEX at the Astrodome.
The sixth-pick overall in the 2018 draft, Garcia said he is happy to have Mocon on board not just because of his talent but also his work ethic.
“He might be the steal of the draft,” Garcia said. “First time he went to practice, he was there 6:30 in the morning working already. He’s been that consistent everyday.”
Garcia also likes the 6-foot-4 Mocon’s ability to play theguard and small forward positions even after playing power forward for San Beda in the NCAA.
“The nice thing is kasi nung nasa San Beda siya, he usually plays the four-position. Malakas ang katawan niya. Pero the thing that surprised me is he can guard small guards and he never stops playing hard. That’s what I like. He makes mistakes as of now but as we go on throughout the season, he will get better and he will probably surprise a lot of people.”
Mocon said he still couldn’t believe he is playing in the pros, but made sure that those emotions were set aside come gametime.
“Sa totoo lang, pagpunta ko rito, malayo biyahe ko, napapaisip ako na totoo na ba ‘to na I’m playing my first PBA game. Surreal ang feeling. Focus lang ako sa game plan namin,” said Mocon.
Upon learning about the positive words of Garcia, Mocon said he will continue to work hard for the Elastopainters, including arriving in practice very early.
“Tinutuloy ko lang ‘yung ginagawa ko sa San Beda. I think effective siya. I’ll keep on doing that,” said Mocon. “Marami pa akong dapat matutunan. I have to be more mature. Good thing na good game ako.”
Mocon said he is having a seamless transition from playing the power forward position to the wing.
“Okay naman. Marami din tumutulong sa akin na veterans. I can easily adjust. Tinutulungan ako ni coach. Sa San Beda, nagsu-switch naman sa akin lagi. I’m looking forward to defend ‘yung mga scorers sa PBA,” said Mocon.
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