JOSH Urbiztondo is back in the PBA - better, he said, after a short but impressive stint as a heritage import for the Singapore Slingers in the Asean Basketball League (ABL).
The Fil-Am guard, 34, has been signed to a short-term contract by GlobalPort for the PBA Commissioner's Cup after helping lead the Slingers to the ABL finals where they lost to the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions.
Ironically, GlobalPort was the seventh and last team he played for before taking his act to the regional league.
"It will help me in a lot of respects," Urbiztondo said when asked how the ABL stint will impact on his return to the PBA.
"Mostly my confidence is very high right now (after) playing as an import in Singapore and playing almost the entire game," the PBA veteran added.
[See Urbiztondo gets another PBA call-up, thanks to impressive ABL stint]
Urbiztondo averaged just 1.1 points and 0.6 assists in six minutes of play in the eight games he played for GlobalPort in the last Philippine Cup before being released.
In the ABL, the Fil-Am guard showed what he can do if given the chance, logging 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 10 games with the Slingers. He averaged 28.27 minutes per contest.
He also set an ABL Finals record by firing seven triples in leading the Slingers to the 92-76 Game One victory over the Long Lions.
Overall, he made 35 percent of his three-point shots in the league.
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