WITH all the noise surrounding him, Jamie Malonzo was glad to be back in his comfort zone in the company of his Barangay Ginebra family.
In his first public appearance since a video of a restaurant fight involving him went viral, the 27-year-old dropped a career-high 32 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, three dimes, and two steals to help the Gin Kings beat Rain or Shine, 113-107, on Friday night.
READ Jamie Malonzo says fight in viral video caused by 'miscommunication'
Eleven days since the BGC restaurant incident during Malonzo's stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba Asia qualifiers, the high-flyer still bore injuries from the one-sided fight with a black eye and hemorrhaging on his left eye.
He said it was also tough for him mentally.
"It's tough for me, it's been a lot for me ... Just credit to my team, they've been holding me down, checking on me throughout the process, they have my back," the Fil-American forward said.
The 6-foot-7 forward also admitted it's never easy regaining his anchor.
He added: "It's difficult to cancel all the noise and focus on the game, so I'm just happy that I was able to do what I did, and we got the win tonight."
Ginebra coach Tim Cone commended the player's coping mechanism, which led to his encouraging performance during their opener.
"He's found a sanctuary in practice, found comfort zone in his teammates, that has really been the key for him... He's put everything tonight. We're actually really proud of Jamie - what he did tonight, how he came back to practice, and just let his game do the talking," Cone said.
As the questions probed deeper into the BGC fight, it was also Cone who stepped in, saying the post-game presser veers back to basketball or he and his player would rather return to the locker room.
"I don't think this is the platform to ask him about what happened. This is basketball. He doesn't need to answer these questions," Cone told reporters.
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