Asian basketball’s own AD continues to ball out.
Allen Durham is a name Filipino hoop fans will hardly forget. He is a three-time PBA Best Import awardee, and he’s one of the very few reinforcements who more than held his own against GOAT import frontrunner, Justin Brownlee.
Nowadays, the former Meralco Bolts star flexes his muscle in the Japan B.League as a member of reigning champions Ryukyu Golden Kings. In the recently concluded championship series, Durham was named Championship MVP as he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two-game sweep of the league's no. 1 team Chiba Jets.
On Sunday night, the official Youtube channel of the Japanese pro league uploaded an interview of the 34-year-old power forward, wherein he broke down a certain part of his game that makes him stand out.
“From my position, I’m not the tallest or I can’t jump the highest, or not the fastest,” Durham said in a press conference after the B.League Finals.
“I really focus on my basketball IQ. And I just try to make the right play for the team.”
Strength and tenacity take precedence over basketball IQ when people talk about Durham. With that, his court awareness and craftiness have become underrated parts of his game. It’s an advantage that he has capitalized on while being surrounded by elite teammates.
“When they construct the team like this with great players around me, it kind of makes my job easy sometimes,” AD divulged.
“I’m just lucky to be on a team like this. But basically, [it’s] just my basketball IQ and trying to make the right play.”
Also suiting up for the Golden Kings is Filipino big man Carl Tamayo. He played sparingly for Ryukyu this past season. Filipinos count on a breakthrough year next season as Tamayo remains side-by-side with Durham in anchoring the paint for the defending champs.
(GM)