A career year might be in the offing for the shooter from FEU.
When Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes bared the roadmap for players in the running for Gilas Pilipinas’ FIBA World Cup roster, he promised one thing to those who will commit to the grind:
“If you go through this [long Gilas preparation] with us, even if you do not make the Final 12, you will come out of this a much better player.”
NorthPort Batang Pier’s Arvin Tolentino would know. The 6-foot-5 wing previously spent about a month or so with Gilas, and that time with the program is apparently paying off already for Tolentino, whose confidence appears to be through the roof.
"As a whole experience, ang laking tulong sa akin, sa career ko," said Tolentino of his short but very sweet stint with Gilas, which went on to win the gold in the biennial meet.
The former FEU Tamaraw made sure he made his presence felt in Cambodia, never once backing down from anyone—even the host’s foreign mercenaries. The two-time champion with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel also helped Gilas dethrone Indonesia in the semis, pouring in 10 points off the bench in the Philippines’ rousing comeback win.
Now, Tolentino knows fully well he can hang with the best of ‘em.
"Malaking tulong yun sa akin playing against the best players in Southeast Asia and some players from the US (naturalized Cambodians)," Tolentino said. "Makakatulong ‘yun kasi nga ‘yung mga kalaban mo magagaling.”
It helps, too, that the 27-year-old got to play with some of the PBA’s very best.
"Then, of course, yung kakampi mo, best of the best din. Tapos naka-gold pa," the Batang Pier sniper added.
That boost in confidence was on full display in Tolentino’s PBA On Tour debut last Friday, when he torched the Blackwater Bossing for 22 points on 4-for-9 shooting from downtown—most coming in the Batang Pier’s searing third quarter.
Tolentino, whose
fighting spirit in Cambodia impressed Reyes, will be looking to continue his stellar play on Saturday as NorthPort takes on Ginebra in Batangas.