DAVE Ildefonso still isn’t closing his doors on entering the PBA once and for all.
The fifth overall pick of the PBA Season 49 Draft has found himself in what has now been nearly a year-long stalemate with Northport while playing for the Abra Solid North Weavers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
As per Ildefonso, it's his camp that made the last move in their long-drawn chess match with NorthPort management.
“Wala eh, kami yung last message eh,” Ildefonso, 25, said during Strong Group-Pilipinas’ penultimate training session for the 44th William Jones Cup.
“Ako, iniisip ko talaga, 'yung job ko right know with Abra kasi yun 'yung commitment ko eh. Kung may mga development man, hindi ko rin kasi alam eh.”
Would he still consider signing with the Batang Pier at some point in the future?
“Hopefully, everything goes well with them. Soon, siyempre, [sana] makapag-ayos ng deal,” he said.
Weaving a title contender
Ildefonso’s focus for the time being is with no other team but Abra.
In fact, he’ll be taking the extra mile by showing up in Abra’s marquee MPBL match with unbeaten league-leaders Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards on Saturday before flying with SGA to Taiwan for the Jones Cup less than a day later.
“Big game, pero for me, I don’t want to make it bigger than it already is kasi that’s when the pressure comes. I’m just really trying to think of it as a normal game kasi that’s what it is — a regular season game,” Ildefonso said.
‘Placing is important but at the end of the day, may bukas pa yan. We’re still trying to compete, we want to win and it’s a good test for us.”
And if an eventual path to Northport or any other PBA team opens up, Ildefonso hopes to give Abra the missing piece they signed him for: a championship.
“Gusto ko lang talaga mag-champion kasi ever since kinuha kami ng Abra, yun talaga yung goal namin na mabigyan ng championship din yung people of Abra,” he said.
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