JUSTINE Baltazar joined the Converge FiberXers practices for the time on Tuesday morning.
And he was "very impressive."
In an interview with SPIN.ph, Converge assistant coach and head of team strategy Charles Tiu bared how the 6-foot-7 Baltazar immediately made quite an impression in his maiden training camp with the team.
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“He’s very impressive, very strong and agile. Justin is very promising. He dominated our practice this morning,” said the reigning Jones Cup champion coach.
“What I initially noticed was his ability to secure the rebound, sobrang dominant nya,” added Tiu, who expects Baltazar’s offense to show up once he goes full throttle in training.
So good was Baltazar’s first practice that Tiu bared how the back-to-back MPBL MVP even made life hard for their import Chieck Diallo.
“Oo, nagulat kami, pinahirapan niya si Diallo sa practice. Ginamit nya speed nya and footwork. We’re excited to have him play for us soon,” he added.
However, Tiu bared that Baltazar's antici[ated PBA debut on Thursday against the Northport Batang Pier is not a sure thing yet.
“That is just the biggest question, will he or won’t he [play] on Thursday. It will depend on the management if gagamitin na siya,” revealed Tiu.
“It’s understandable pagod pa si Balti from the MPBL campaign and the Dubai trip. And halos one year siya walang rest," he added. "Mahirap din kasi isagad ang players baka magka effect sa condition and health nya."
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