The new reinforcement stood out in his debut, firing 35 points built around six triples along with 13 boards, three, assists, and one block in 39 minutes in the Elasto Painters’ 108-105 win over San Miguel Beer on Friday night.
“I just wanted to have a great showing and show my team what I can do,” Charlo said. “It was a great win.”
The 32-year-old American forward evidently jelled well with his teammates despite practicing with them for just three days.
“They believe in me,” Charlo said. “They’ve given me a lot of confidence just to play my game and shoot the open shot. And that just gives everybody confidence. Everybody shares the ball.”
“Hopefully I make a great impression,” added the NBA D-League veteran, who turned pro in 2006. “I don’t want to leave. It’s a great country, all the fans are great, and I love it here so far. Hopefully I could end my career here and stay here for many years to come.”
ROS coach Yeng Guiao seems so impressed with Charlo that he’s already considering the new import for the Governors’ Cup, which has a 6-foot-5 height limit for imports.
“He’s a great option for us coming into the third conference,” the veteran coach said of Charlo, who was officially measured at 6’4 15/16. “He’s not as a big as the other imports, but he’s a great defender, gives us a lot of range, and he’s active: he can run with the team in the open court.”
“Mo can still get better,” Guiao added of Antoine Wright’s replacement. “He’s in game shape and he’s just learning to play with the guys, so I think things can look better for us.”
“Maybe with the changes in import, what happened to Wayne could be a blessing in disguise,” he concluded.