LUIS Villegas played the first game of his PBA career for Rain or Shine on Tuesday after sitting out what was supposed to be his rookie year last season.
Villegas was on the court at the tailend of the Elasto Painters’ 110-97 win over Blackwater in their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup opener. The No. 3 pick in last season’s draft played four minutes and 47 seconds and scored four points.
Villegas’ teammates were visibly glad when he took the floor and scored a free throw and a three-pointer after a lengthy layoff due to an ACL injury that bothered him prior to his entry in the PBA.
READ Mark Nonoy 53-inch vertical leap reduced by 10 after 'typo error' spotted
“For the short time that Luis played, he played well,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who gave Villegas the opportunity with the result of the game already settled. “He isn’t 100 percent yet. But we wanted to give him the feel of the game.”
Though already a presence in practice and tune-up games, Guiao said Villegas still needs to play court time in official games in order to regain the form that convinced Rain or Shine to pick him so high in the Season 48 draft.
Aside from his stint with University of the East, Villegas also had a brief time with TNT in the PBA 3x3.
“We just wanted him to be able to acclimatize. Isang taon siyang hindi naglalaro. I think this opportunity will help him gain his conference back and also get back to his usual game,” said Guiao.
“Luis is getting better everyday. He is going to complement us with his outside shooting. He is a very high IQ player, he also got the size to help us out in the middle. It’s going really well for us,” said Guiao.
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.
