HoopWatch

If there’s a player in Philippine basketball that I want to emulate, it’s got to be Red Bull All-Star guard Larry Fonacier. Ever since his Blue Eagle days, I love watching his game- style of play, most especially that I play almost like him. No, I don’t have his 6’3” frame. I haven’t been bestowed with the gift of height. But in intramural plays at work or just in any pick-up games at any hard court, I try hard to play like Larry.

He is an excellent shooter, can pull up or spot from three. He is good off picks and can hit in the clutch. He defends well. He can best be remembered for those two blocks against La Salle’s Mark Cardona that sealed the victory for that Finals-Game One during the 2002 Championship year. He is versatile, who at six feet three towers over the opponents’ guards. He can play the point, and in fact, Red Bull used him at times at the one-position.
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But what I most admired about Fonacier was the way he bounced back from a career-threatening ACL injury which he incurred in his last year of play with Ateneo. He may have lost the chance to win another title with the Blue Eagles, sat out a whole PBL banner year which is a front-door-way-in the PBA. He sat at the bench of Harbour Center, watching pro-bound teammates Cardona, Joseph Yeo and L.A. Tenorio. His future in basketball was so bleak at that time. He never expected to be picked.

PBA team Red Bull eventually took a chance on him in the second round while fellow college stars were picked ahead of him. He was picked 14th over-all. At the start, he struggled to blend in with Red Bull, but with hard work and determination, he eventually worked his way up Yeng Guiao’s rotation. So much so that the “Baby-Faced Assassin” was adjudged the Rookie-of-the-Year in the 2005-2006 season besting those 13 players picked ahead of him, a rare feat for a second rounder.

Today, Larry has established himself as a bonafide All-Star. He is one of those picked by coaches to represent the North All-Stars in the upcoming All-Star weekend. And this will be just a start of many achievements to come.