It seems Troy Rosario is finally figuring out his role for Ginebra in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
Two games into the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup, Troy Rosario has looked tailor-fit for Ginebra.
Just ask coach Tim Cone.
Cone said the 32-year-old forward is just what the doctor ordered for the Gin Kings as he successfully fills the gaping hole left by Christian Standhardinger.
“He's doing great. He's filling out all of the stuff that we don't normally have on our team. In terms of the ability, you see him seal and we get next to the basket. We don’t have a guy that really does that,” said Cone after Ginebra’s 94-72 win over Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 14.
“Christian would do that for us in the past. And so Troy is being that guy inside that can rebound.”
Cone went on.
“He's also a tremendous defender. He doesn't back down from anybody, and he has that physicality to our team,” said Cone, who said in Ginebra's previous game against NLEX last Wednesday, Dec. 11, that Rosario’s arrival gave the squad the physicality it had been missing after the departure of Standhardinger.
“Guys like RJ (Abarrientos), they love playing for him (Rosario) because he is going to set that really hard screen, he's going to get that offensive rebound if they miss a shot. So he fills out kind of what the doctor ordered and finishes that pieces of the puzzle for us.”
More importantly, Rosario's arrival has allowed resident import and beloved naturalized Filipino Justin Brownlee to take an extended breather from time to time, giving him a set of fresh legs to whip up some magic in the endgame.
“It also allows us to rest Justin a little bit more. I felt that RJ, he led that second group and extended the lead and kind of blowing the game out so that we could spend time resting Justin and him not having to play really heavy minutes. That's one of our goals: not to overplay Justin, keep him fresher for the playoffs,” Cone said.
In his first game with Ginebra, where he admitted that he is still getting the hang of playing with Cone’s structured offense, Rosario piled up nine points, seven rebounds and three assists in more than 30 minutes of play.
"Hindi ko pa rin masyadong kapa ang sistema... Halu-halo, 'yung sa plays na gusto kong matutunan. Shina-shuffle ako sa five, four, sa wing. So medyo inaalam ko pa ang mga galaw talaga. Kinakabisado ko," said Rosario.
Now, it seemed Rosario — who finished with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal against Phoenix last Friday, Dec. 13 — is beginning to figure out his role with Ginebra.
Rosario and the rest of the Gin Kings will tangle with Eastern next on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Game time is at 7:30 p.m.