CLARK FREEPORT – Poy Erram makes his much-awaited debut with TnT Tropang Giga on Sunday as the team battles Alaska Aces in the PBA Philippine Cup restart.
While much has been expected out of him as perhaps the so-called missing link in the TnT rotation, the 6-foot-8 Erram played down the anticipation by saying basketball remains a team game.
He added the Tropang Giga management is also not pinning everything on him after making a major off-season move just to acquire his services through a three-team trade.
“Wala namang expectations especially from my side, individually walan naman,” said the 31-year-old former Ateneo stalwart. “More of a team expectation which is to win, and then hoping na mag-click yung team as early as our first game.”
“We’ve been working, practicing, and focusing on our system para pagdating sa game, small adjustment na lang.”
There’s no doubt, however, Erram’s acquisition was a big catch for a franchise whose waterloo in the past has been the lack of a solid big man in the middle.
In Erram, the Tropang Giga certainly addressed that concern as he completes a starting unit many consider as worthy of a Gilas Pilipinas five, which also includes Troy Rosario, sophomore guard Bobby Ray Parks, two-way player Roger Pogoy, and two-time Asia best point guard Jayson Castro.
But even before he came back home to TnT, Erram said the team has already been a title contender.
“Kahit wala ako, contender naman yung TnT. Before pa ako pumunta dito, contender na (ang team),” he said. “Consistent sila sa playoffs, sa semis, sa finals.
“Hindi ako yung savior ng team,” added Erram. “Sila sa team, alam naman nila kung ano ang kaya kong gawin, ano yung maitutulong ko sa team kaya rin ako nandito.”
The stint is a homecoming for Erram, having been picked in the second round by TnT (no. 15) during the 2013 draft.
But the stint was a short lived one as the team left him unprotected in the dispersal draft the following season, leading to him getting a career reboot when Blackwater picked him from the pool.
The stint with the Elite restored his confidence and soon after, Erram became one of the league’s most important big men that led to his inclusion and eventual stint with the Gilas Pilipinas.
Hopefully, his return at TnT would finally be for good.
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