KRIS Porter admitted getting caught by surprise after receiving word that he has been offered by Rain or Shine to go back to the PBA.
Porter has been playing for two seasons in the MPBL with Batangas City Tanduay, and it was head coach Cholo Villanueva who told him about the Elasto Painters offer.
READ: Guiao cracks joke on Porter signing: 'Gusto namin may itsura'
“Actually, nagulat lang din ako kasi nung Friday, tumawag si Coach Cholo sa akin, that’s when he broke the news na kinukuha ako ng Rain or Shine,” said Porter.
Porter, whose last stint in the PBA was in Phoenix back in 2022, said Villanueva and the rest of the Rum Masters were supportive of whatever his decision would be so it made it easy for him to make one.
Ultimately, the opportunity to come back to the PBA made him take the offer of Rain or Shine.
“Sabi ni coach, ‘Sige, pag-isipan mo. Pero kami dito sa Tanduay, supportive kami sayo. If you decided that you go back to playing in the PBA, we fully support you, we will release you right away. Just let us know,’” said Porter, recalling his conversation with Villanueva.
“Pinag-usapan namin ng wife ko. The next day, pumunta akong practice ng Tanduay. Nag-paalam na ako sa mga teammates ko, kay coach Cholo at sa management. Si Boss Jean (Alabanza, Tanduay team manager) din kasi tumawag sa akin. He said the same thing, same sentiment. Basically, long story short, nung sinabi na sa akin, [sabi nila] you have our full support whatever you decided,” Porter said.
The 30-year-old Porter isn’t coming to Rain or Shine unprepared.
Aside from being in shape with his MPBL stint, Porter’s team Batangas City runs a similar system as that of Rain or Shine. He also once played for Yeng Guiao, when he was still with NLEX as he drafted him No. 16 overall in the 2018 draft.
“Nagpapasalamat ako na nabigyan ako ng ganitong opportunity. At least, hindi ako naka-tenga nung wala ako sa PBA. Kahit papaano, binigyan din ako ng opportunity nila Coach Cholo sa Tanduay. Hindi naman nagkakalayo ‘yung sistema ni Coach Cholo at ni Coach Yeng,” said Porter, who had six points and six rebounds in his final game with Batangas City against Paranaque last May 10 before shifting to Rain or Shine.
“Si Coach Cholo kasi, mahilig maglaro ng up tempo. ‘Yun ang training namin, takbuhan. When I arrived dito sa Rain or Shine, unang practice, sabi ng teammates ko sa akin, mag-handa ka, takbuhan dito. So, ako, okay lang. Practice namin takbuhan din. So pasalamat talaga ako kay Coach Cholo na even if this was unexpected, ‘yung training namin doon, ‘yung system niya, was able to prepare me for this, kahit hindi sadya,” he added.
The 6-foot-5 Porter is expected to fill the gap left by Beau Belga, who will be out indefinitely due to vertigo. Porter said he wants to play that role the best he can with Rain or Shine through adjusting quickly with his teammates.
“More than adjusting to Coach Yeng, it’s going to be more of adjusting to my teammates. Kasi matagal na ako kay Coach Yeng, naka-apat na taon din ako sa kanya dati. It’s more of adjusting to my teammates talaga, Magka-amuyan,” said Porter.
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