THE Philippines is no longer new to Jenning Leung. He actually considers it his second home.
The Macau Black Knights gunner spent most of the first 16 years of his life in the country before his family headed back overseas, but the burning desire for him to play in the PBA has always been there.
“It’s a dream to play in the PBA. If I was able to get a Filipino passport or something like that, it would be a dream to come here [and play] as a local,” said Leung.
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And playing for the Black Knights is the closest that he got to making it to Asia’s pioneering pro league where he showed on Tuesday night what exactly he can do by leading the guest team to its first-ever win in the Commissioner’s Cup, 119-107, at the expense of Titan Ultra at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Leung finished with a PBA career-high 32 points spiked by 7-of-10 shooting from three-point range, and added three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. In all, he was 11-of-15 from the field including a 70 percent shooting from the three-point line.
The US-born Leung sure felt at home in the place where he spent his childhood and teenage years, having grown up in Los Banos, Laguna where his family moved when he was just a year old.
“I like being away from the city a bit, being on (Mount) Makiling, and having my own little community there,” he shared.
Growing up, Jenning said he and a friend used to play in barangay leagues where he got used to the physicality of Philippine basketball.
“They just bring us in and we had so much fun,” he recalled.
Despite the years of living in the Philippines, he never got to learn to speak tagalog fluently.
“Konti lang. Sobrang lang konti lang,” said Jenning.
He also studied at Brent Mamplasan where Leung became teammates with Kevin Cone, the son of Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“He (Kevin) was a year below me and we were on the same high school team. I think we won two or one championship together, but we’re always in the championships,” said Leung.
“Kevin is a great guy and Tim is a great guy as well.”
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