Hontiveros thanks Tab for the trust despite past shooting woes

CHANGSHA – Dondon Hontiveros had been struggling with atrocious shooting all tournament long until he found his touch when he really needed to in their fateful duel with Japan Friday night.

Feeling it and getting into a real good rhythm, Hontiveros emerged as a major factor as Gilas Pilipinas fought off the resilient Japan squad, 81-70, and advanced to the FIBA Asia Championship finals for the second straight time.

“Even as a missed my first attempt, I felt good with the shot. I felt something different from the previous games, making me confident I can deliver,” said the Cebuano hotshot.

With that confidence, Hontiveros knocked in 6-of-9 three-pointers in what’s easily his biggest game with Gilas Pilipinas, a tremendous boost in Team Phl’s grind-out win that carried them to a gold-medal game versus the host team.

Hontiveros averaged only 6.9 points before that 18-point explosion against the Japanese.

In the Phl-Japan tiff during the preliminary round Monday, the Alaska Aces stalwart was good for only two points on 1-of-2 shooting.

In their game against Lebanon before facing Japan in a rematch, Hontiveros didn’t contribute a single point.

“I really struggled early on that in some matches, I just played hard on defense to be of help to the team,” said Hontiveros.

His struggles dated back to their Estonia trip, to the Jones Cup competition in Taipei and in the MVP Cup at home.

In all those games, Hontiveros had real one shining moment against the Wellington Saints of New Zealand in the Jones Cup.

He also found his touch then, leading the Filipinos past the Kiwis in overtime.

“I have to thank coach Tab for his trust in me,” he said.