He contributed 3 triples and more.
While all eyes were on American reinforcement Cameron Clark, 6-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, and star guard Cjay Perez, SMB newbie Allyn Bulanadi quietly made a splendid PBA restart with new team San Miguel Beermen.
Bulanadi, who was involved in a couple of trades this month and ended up in a San Miguel jersey, had a rousing debut for the powerhouse team in its opener against Phoenix on Sunday.
SMB raced off to a sizzling start, sputtered in the fourth period before regaining control on the way to the 114-93 victory at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
In the one-sided win, the former San Sebastian ace fired 16 points, including 13 in the first half where the Beermen erected their biggest lead of 33 points, 62-29. He also grabbed 3 rebounds and had a steal.
New Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent didn’t seem surprised.
After all, Bulanadi’s scoring prowess was what earned him a spot in the national team pool years ago and was even part of the special Gilas draft in 2019.
“Allyn has always been a shooter. When we played against him against Converge, he was just doing the same things there. And he’s doing the same things here,” said Gallent, who was missing the services of injured Terrence Romeo (hamstring) and Vic Manuel (calf).
Bulanadi hasn’t had much success early in his career, though.
At Converge, Bulanadi played sparingly. That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise when the FiberXers shipped him to NorthPorth early this month.
A day later, the Batang Pier sent the sniper to the SMB camp for Paul Zamar and a 2025 second round pick.
But now it looks like he’s right where he needed to be.
“I’m very happy for his first game as a San Miguel Beerman. And I hope he keeps it up,” Gallent said.