PBA: Javi Gomez de Liaño applies this lesson from playing overseas to the Hotshots

Javi Gomez de Liaño did not disappoint in his first game as a Magnolia Hotshot.

Gomez De Liaño shot 14 points, highlighted by a game-high four triples, in the Hotshots' 80-73 win over Ginebra in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup opener Sunday, Oct. 5.

“It feels good to be back,” De Liaño told reporters after the match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

[RELATED STORY: Tenorio says Magnolia win isn’t about him but the players: ‘I’m just here to guide them’]

Lessons learned from the journey

Out there, it looked like the journeyman was tailor-fit for Magnolia, which is now under new coach LA Tenorio.

The 6-foot-5 forward later said easing into any system almost seamlessly is something he picked up by playing overseas.

“I guess that's one thing I learned in playing overseas: to adapt right away to any system. Because that's my problem back in the day. In college, my first year in the pros, it takes time for me to adjust to a certain system,” said Gomez de Liaño, who played in the Japan B.LEAGUE and Korean Basketball League.

“But now I’m a fifth-year pro, I’ve had to adjust right away to what coach LA wants from me. As you play for this team, you’ll eventually know what the team needs from you.”

Javi Gomez de Liaño plays in his first game with Magnolia — and a Manila Clasico at that. | Photo: RM Chua/One Sports

[RELATED STORY: Cone after Ginebra loss to debuting coach Tenorio, Magnolia: 'I'm happy for LA']

Still, he knows he has his work cut out for him and the rest of Hotshots, whose goal is to simply get better by the day.

“It’s a normal game for us, just taking it one game at a time. We’re glad we played well as a team, although we had some lapses,” said Gomez de Liaño. 

“But like what coach LA told us earlier, it wasn’t our best game. We still had a lot of errors. But despite that, we’ll take it. It’s one step toward progress everyday for us. I know we will get better from today on.”

—

Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.

He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.