La Salle rookie Joaquin Tovera admitted he was nervous coming into his UAAP debut.
The jitters, however, were nonexistent the moment he checked into the game at the 3:56 mark of the first quarter against National University.
He missed his first shot but went on to make his next four tries from the field to finish with 10 points in the opening period alone.
‘At first I was nervous, but when I stepped on the court, I just wanted to show what I got. It was a great experience,’ said the Filipino-American guard, who played at Chino Hills High School in California, USA.
Tovera wound up with the game-high 22 points that went with three steals in just 14 minutes off the bench to lead the Green Archers to an 89-87 escape at Araneta Coliseum.
‘I think he was a bit nervous, but he got his bearings. It’s his first time playing in front of a crowd like this,’ said his coach Topex Robinson, whose squad is eyeing a third crown in four seasons.
‘I guess he just soaked up the experience. It’s going to get a lot tougher from here on, but he knows that.’
Tovera’s big debut also came timely for the defending champions, as their main man Jacob Cortez struggled with only nine points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field.
‘We know that this year, all the other teams will never forget Jacob so we know he’s always going to be the target,’ said Robinson.
‘It’s nice to have a backup for someone who can also provide support for the team, but again, having a young guy together with our veterans is really going to be of big help for us moving forward.’