OF all the teams he played against in the PBA on Tour, it was at Phoenix where Reden Celda delivered his best game on Friday in a win over Terrafirma.
Celda scored 19 points and shot 8-of-14 from the field in the Fuel Masters’ 104-92 win over the Dyip - the same team he played for in his first six years in the pro league.
READ: Celda, Lalata stand out in Phoenix win
The former National University cager also had his best output offensively since being acquired by Phoenix in a trade after a one-year stay with the NLEX Road Warriors.
Celda had nine points and six rebounds against the Road Warriors last June 9 in his second game as a Fuel Master.
“He fits really good with us,” said Phoenix assistant coach Willie Wilson. “He is a high-tempo type of player. We like to do that. You see that we’re not going to get the really big guys so we have to figure out a way to play a different style of basketball. And he fits with that.”
“When you face your former team, you up a little bit more for that game. And he came to play,” said Wilson.
Celda said he treated the exhibition match like any normal game.
“’Yun ang goal namin, manalo ngayon. ‘Yun lang nasa isip ko. Grateful pa rin naman ako sa Terrafirma. Sila naman ang nagbukas sa akin ng pinto sa PBA. Goal lang namin is to win,” said Celda.
“Nagbibiruan nga lang kami sa court. Enjoy lang. Aggressive lang ako saka inaano ko ‘yung sistema nila sa bagong team namin,” said Celda.
The 31-year-old Celda said he is enjoying the new chapter of his career with Phoenix in the company of young players.

“Mga bata. Enjoy kami sa practice. At the same time, masisipag ‘yung mga kasama ko,” said Celda.
He, however, still doesn’t see himself as a veteran in the team.
“Kung wala si RJ [Jazul] at RR [Garcia], ako na yata ang pinakamatanda. Parang hindi ko pa makita sarili ko [na veteran] kasi hindi rin naman ako naglaro rin ng matagal tapos nag-pandemic pa,” said Celda.
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