Cebuano Joseph Airo Nalos of Zamboanga drives to the basket in this MPBL photo.
Cebu City, Philippines — While most people saw the career-high numbers that guard Joseph Airo Nalos posted in their do-or-die quarterfinal game against Muntinlupa in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup on Monday, March 25, 2019, the Cebuano considered it the peak of his persistence in what had been a trying season so far.
Cast aside for reasons he would rather not talk about during his stint at Caloocan, the Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma product did not give up and continued to barnstorm one league after another, not just in the country but also in neighboring countries as well.
“Struggle akong journey sa MPBL, labi na katong naa ko sa Caloocan. Ups and downs na feel nako pero wa gihapon ko ni hinung,” relayed Nalos in a talk with Cebu Daily News.
(My journey in the MPBL was a struggle, especially when I was with Caloocan. I felt the ups and downs but I never gave up.)
That kind of determination did not go unnoticed as he was scooped up by Zamboanga near the tail-end of the MPBL elimination round.
With familiar faces like former Adamson Falcons teammate Ivan Villanueva and fellow Cebuano Reed Juntilla on board, Nalos did not take long to feel right at home.
“Na-feel nako diri ang team gyud is a family. Mao wala na nako sayangi ang chance,” expressed Nalos.
(I really felt that the team is a family. So it didn’t waste the chance given to me.)
He repaid Zamboanga for its trust in him with his outstanding play against last season’s runners-up, the Muntinlupa Cagers.
With a spot in the South Division semis at stake, Nalos put up 19 points and 10 assists, and more importantly, canned a difficult turnaround jumper over the defense of Muntinlupa forward Chito Jaime with 39.4 seconds left to put Zamboanga up for good.
“Last second, the ball was with me, I just thought of my family, my siblings, parents and my baby. That’s why I was confident I was going to make that shot,” Nalos narrated.
The road for Nalos and the rest of Zamboanga gets even tougher as they will be taking on the defending champions, Batangas Athletics, in the semifinals. /bmjo