ONLY extra motivation, no extra motion.
Jackson Corpuz admitted having something to prove to Magnolia, but insisted no intention to hurt Calvin Abueva in their faceoff on Wednesday that saw Converge lose, 83-71, in the Philippine Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Eager to do well as he met his team for almost five years for the first time, the rugged power forward went up for a short stab, then went down unintentionally hitting Abueva in the face and getting called for a flagrant foul late in the first half.
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“Syempre mayroon din,” Corpuz said when asked if he had extra motivation against his former team. “Siguro pinakita ko lang kung ano lang naman yung laro: hustle player, physical player, pero hindi naman ako dirty. Nagulat lang ako na tinawagan ako ng flagrant foul.
“Syempre ako, tumayo na ako eh,” he began to explain. “Kung makikita mo sa slow-mo, parang naka-angat na yung paa ko and hindi ko alam na nandun pala siya sa ilalim. Nagulat lang ako na tinawagan ako. Parang hindi ko tanggap.”
“Parang nandun yung momentum ng laro ko na okay eh, tapos tinawagan lang ako ng ganun,” the 6-foot-4 forward continued.
Corpuz didn’t get to speak with Abueva after the game, but greeted all of his former teammates and coaches before the match.
“Na-excite din ako kasi syempre dati kong team yun, so gusto ko lang magpakita ng laro ko. Yun, sila nanalo. Okay lang. Happy naman ako na nakita ko sila ulit, mga coaches, players, mga boys. Parang family rin naman kasi kami nung nandun ako. Ilang taon din ako sa kanila. Happy ako na nakalaro sila,” the 36-year-old forward said.
“Hindi ko na siya nakita eh,” he added of Abueva. “Pero lahat naman ng players kanina kinausap ko, mga coaches, parang na-miss ko sila eh. Niyakap ko din sila kanina. Happy naman ako kasi masaya din sila sa akin. At least nakita nila ako na naglalaro na ulit.”
Corpuz played over 12 minutes for Converge and contributed three points, four boards, one block, and five turnovers against his old team as he cherished his new chance to grab more playing time in a new team.
“Oo naman, feeling ko rin naman, kasi pinapakita ko rin naman sa coach namin na karapat-dapat. I mean yung minutes ko ay deserve ko, kasi pinapakita ko naman yung kaya kong gawin,” Corpuz concluded.
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