KEN Bono was having a snack in one of the burger joints along Acropolis in Quezon City late last year when little did he know that very moment would pave the way for his return in the PBA through the 3x3 tournament.
Veteran coach Boycie Zamar also happened to be in the area since San Miguel was holding its regular practices at the Acropolis gym. He chanced upon Bono taking his meal in one of the eateries located there.
After some small talk, Zamar made Bono an offer that was hard to refuse.
“Kakatapos lang namin i-sign si (John) Yasa nun. Nakita ko siya (Bono) kumakain ng hamburger sa Acropolis,” recalled the San Miguel 3x3 coach.
“Sabi ko sa kanya, sayang sa susunod baka puwede ka (3x3). And the good thing naman, he committed (to us).”
Bono, a first-round pick of Alaska in the 2007 draft who also had stints with San Miguel, Barako Bull, Coca-Cola, San Mig Coffee, Meralco, and TNT, corroborated the chance meeting with Zamar .
“Actually naglaro ako nun sa Acropolis nung nakita niya ako,” said the 6-foot-5 power forward. “So nag-usap kami kung gusto ko raw maglaro sa 3x3. Sabi ko, sige coach so far wala pa naman akong pinaglalaruan. So sige subukan ko.”
Champ
That was around December last year when Conference 1 of the standalone tournament was coming to an end.
Two months later, Bono, 37, was finally on board as part of the Beermen’s official roster for the second conference of the meet.
Two legs after, Bono is already a certified 3x3 champion following San Miguel’s title triumph on Sunday against Barangay Ginebra, 21-15, in the finals.
Along with Bono in the team that won the top prize of P100,000 were Jeff Manday, Bacon Austria, and Mon Rogado.
Having forged a friendship with Bono, according to Zamar, didn’t make it difficult for him to convince the former UAAP MVP from Adamson to try his hand at 3x3 basketball for the first time.
“Alam ko naman na may ibang offers sa kanya from other leagues, pero sabi ko nga sa kanya, dito may tsansa kang makapaglaro. Andiyang yung mapapanood ulit siya, magiging visible siya, and who knows, baka makabalik ulit siya sa PBA,” said Zamar.
“Ang maganda din naman sa kanya, willing siya to go in the 3x3 level.”
Not a bad decision at all.
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