CHICAGO - After just five games with the team, Jamie Malonzo was waived by the Kyoto Hannaryz of the Japan B.League last October.
Given his standing as a star at Barangay Ginebra and a bemedalled Gilas Pilipinas player, the quick exit was shocking to everyone.
Except Jamie Malonzo.
SOURCES SAY Return to the PBA not Jamie Malonzo's primary goal
"It was ground zero for me. I had no name coming into that highly competitive league and it just didn't work out," the Fil-Am from Seattle, his voice dripping with humility, told me in a telephone interview.
"I'll continue the grind, prove myself, "he added.
And that's exactly what the 6-foot-7 forward did at the just-concluded 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand where he was an indispensable piece to Gilas' successful gold medal defense.
A STAR IS REBORN.
In a starry, starry turn that is sure to burnish his credentials, Malonzo dominated on both ends of the floor.
A 6-foot-10, 236-lb forward for Long Beach State in the US-NCAA, Derrick Xzavierro scored 17 points for Indonesia in the first quarter alone to put Gilas behind early, 27-15, in the semifinals.
To stop the bleeding, coach Norman Black tapped Malonzo.
Despite being three inches shorter and 26 pounds lighter, Malonzo held Xzavierro to five points the rest of the way and Gilas escaped with a 71-68 victory.
In the gold-medal game, Malonzo tormented the host Thais with 17 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and five steals.
The golden Thailand excursion isn't part of a redemption tour. Nothing was lost in Japan, just experiences learned and a new chapter peeled.
BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD.
Unburdened by injury and unencumbered by any live contract, a free and open horizon is what's next for Jamie.
"I want to explore my options in Japan or any other international stage. I want to play with the best competition to test the limits of what I can do," said the former La Salle Green Archer, who also had a stint at Portland State, a US-NCAA Division 1 program.
Covered by a newly imposed rule banning players who left for other leagues from returning for three years, Malonzo is not sweating it.
But like North Carolina is to James Taylor, the PBA will always be on Malonzo's mind.
That's why he wants to return.
"One day," said the 29-year-old.
It will be worth the wait.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
