What is it with Rey Evangelista that makes him my most basketball player I looked up to? What makes me cheered my lungs out whenever he's doing his work, a simple offensive rebound, a simple defensive stop, anything he had done was simple and yet, I was cheering like Jordan just made a dunk from the free throw line. What is with Evangelista that made him one of the most underrated, most unsung but respected just the same by fans, fellow players, media and others? Evangelista was not the typical superstar. He don't usually make spectacular moves, he's not the one who always made the big shots, and girls don't go 'gaga' over him. But he's also capable of doing those things and a lot more. Basketball will have never been the same without a guy like him. He's the perfect example of a player who works so hard on the court, do the dirty jobs and one who hustles as if it is the last game. At first, (during my younger years of watching basketball) I thought basketball is just about shooting the ball, but Evangelista was one of those guys who had shown wonders that it's better to stop the opponent from scoring than just scoring itself. I've seen him up against so many players with different sizes. He's the designated import stopper back then, making life miserable with great imports like Lamont Strothers, Sean Chambers, Larry Robinson, Todd Bernard, Tony Lang, even Derick Brown at one point et al.. There are a lot of times he defended those imports well, made some big stops that won Purefoods some games. How about on locals? Before, he's always the one you'll expect to see up against Duremdes, Cariaso, Meneses, Caidic, D. Seigle, Valenzuela, those small forwards/big guards that were capable of scoring high for their respective teams. They really can score, I mean, even against Evangelista, but the fact is, sometimes, they are so concentrated making those shots against Rey challenging his defense, that they're forgetting that they have to make plays, team plays. And eventually their team losses. Against Rey, I'm confident of saying that players can make only about 30% of their field goals, or even lesser. Rey also forces turnovers about an average of 2 to 3 per player he's up against with, and an average of 1 forced offensive foul per team. He's also capable of denying the ball to the designated player for about 5 to 6 times and capable of forcing a jump ball, a lost possession for the opponent for about 2 times. Of course, those are not the actual stats, but as I've watched him through the years, he have done that, maybe a lot better. And I've seen him defend guys like Taulava, Abarrientos, Aquino, Miller, Alvarado, Menk, B. David, Rico Villanueva, Tugade, Fonacier, Baguio.. see, all shapes and sizes.. And he have proven that he's not just a defensive kind of guy. Those drive to the basket with his left hand was hard to stop, whenever he had made the first step, you'll expect to count that one in for him. And then as years passed by, he had improved his outside shots, making medium range jumpers and set 3-pointers. He also passed the ball well, reading the defense and creating those plays for his teammates. Plus he had played the role for Purefoods as a point guard bringing down the ball setting up the plays. Another thing, he's just so humble and sports that even he was being kicked and all, he won't even raised his eyebrow. As one writer had said on one of his article (back in 2002), Rey Evangelista was the complete package. That's what made me appreciate basketball more, because of his work ethics. It's inspiring actually. It's just like this, Work Hard, Be Humble, and Enjoy. Isn't it something you can apply to life itself?
It's been 14 years as Rey was providing the best for his team Purefoods. Just last night, Purefoods had their last game against Talk N Text, last game for this conference, last for the season. And Rey played 7 minutes, provided 7 points out of 2 ring less 3-pointers, tapping the ball to the right rebounder (as he was up against tall TNT guys), making life a bit difficult for J. Washington and all the other players he was up to with that short time inside the court. He played less but QUALITY minutes. I'm totally sad knowing that it's the last for the team and I won't be seeing them for a long time. But it will totally ruin me if by the opening of next season, I won't be seeing Rey Evangelista wearing his basketball jersey. That, I don't think I can live on. He might be old and slow, I know that for a fact, but he really can play still. He can still provide those quality games, given the CHANCE, given the right ROLE. All I can do now is pray and hope that someone, will preferred that service that only a Rey Evangelista can give.
---undesirablenumber1---
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