STAR recruit RR Garcia finally seemed at home with the Hotshots after taking charge and leading his new team to its first win following back-to-back losses to open the PBA Governors Cup.
Playing in his fourth PBA team in three years, the 5-foot-10 guard out of Far Eastern University had his best game so far in a Star uniform, firing 26 points on an efficient 11-of-13 shooting in the Hotshots' 105-102 overtime win against GlobalPort on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Garcia may have lost the scoring duel against GlobalPort guard and former FEU teammate Terrence Romeo, who had 27 points, but he made sure he and his Star teammates walked away with the win.
The 26-year-old Garcia banged in eight points in the extra session, including two pressure-packed free throws off a deliberate foul by Stanley Pringle that practically ended Star’s winless spell.
His gutsy effort earned him the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period of July 18-24, besting Blackwater’s John Paul Erram, Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood and Alaska’s Chris Banchero.
“I think RR pretty much adjusted pretty well,” said Star coach Jason Webb on Garcia, the team’s prized recruit during the conference break. “I am just happy for the guy. He got his confidence going and it’s fun seeing him and Terrence go at it.”
“We gave up a lot to get him and he played like the three players we gave up,” he added.