RK ILAGAN said that aside from his offseason and midseason work, he believes that the entry of Allyn Bulanadi with Alaska has also contributed to his strong play as of late in the PBA Season 46 Governors’ Cup.
RK Ilagan on reunion with Bulanadi
The Alaska rookie made headlines over the weekend after drilling a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Aces to a 94-93 victory over Meralco. He finished with 11 points, his best output thus far in his career.
The 5-foot-7 Ilagan said he has been working on his game, doing extra workouts with Simple Grind of coach Nicolo Chua. “Siya ‘yung tumutulong sa akin to improve my game lagi,” he said.
The former San Sebastian guard from Tondo has actually been providing valuable minutes for the Aces.
In their game against Terrafirma where the Aces bounced back from a 20-point deficit, Ilagan had four points, four rebounds, and two assists as the unsung hero in the comeback win.
Ilagan only played for seven minutes against NLEX in its next outing but he still came away with four points, three rebounds, and five assists.
The 24-year-old thinks that the presence of Bulanadi has something to do with it.
“Feel ko, siya lang hinihintay ko para makapaglaro ako ng maayos,” said Ilagan. “Kapag kasabay ko siya, parang Baste lang ginagawa namin.”
Bulanadi and Ilagan were the 1-2 punch of San Sebastian under head coach Egay Macaraya including in their final year in the NCAA in 2019 where they reached the Final Four before they were eliminated by eventual champion Letran.
Bulanadi recently joined Alaska after his stay with the Gilas Pilipinas national team program for two years. He has already played in four games with the Aces, averaging 6.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.
Coincidentally, Bulanadi’s two best games, statistically, so far was during that Terrafirma-NLEX stretch, with the Gilas draftee scoring 10 points and adding three rebounds, and two assists against the Dyip, and tallying eight points against the Road Warriors.
At times, Alaska coach Jeff Cariaso would field the two at the same time.
“Pag pasa ko, tira niya. Palitan lang kami,” said Ilagan. “Tuwang-tuwa nga ako kasi tinutulungan niya rin ako. Lagi niyang pinapaalala sa akin na ‘wag ma-frustrate kapag hindi nagagamit.”
“Siguro alam ni coach Jeff na kabisado ko laro ni Allyn. Kaya nung mga time na malas si Allyn, sinasabay ako kay Allyn para makuha niya ‘yung pace niya.”
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