By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rodney Brondial will never be a star player in a team that has June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez and Don Trollano.
But in the last two games, he aptly played like one.
The 6-foot-5 banger wasn’t loud and flashy on the court but he played his role great enough to turn heads in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup and be mentioned by San Miguel Corporation sports director Alfrancis Chua during his speech.
For one, the Beermen wouldn’t be where it was in the series, if not for the Game 5 heroics of Brondial. He also had a crucial part in SMB’s fourth quarter pullaway to essay a 92-77 title-clinching win in Game 6.
“This Finals, I dedicate this, unang-una kay Rodney Brondial,” Chua said, hailing Brondial along with SMB veteran Chris Ross during his speech.
And for the SMB role player, it was a heartfelt moment since it was Chua who brought him in at SMB.
“Ibang klase yung utang na loob ko niya. Kasi noong umalis ako sa Alaska, alam naman natin ito, siya yung nilapitan ko, sabi ko, baka pwede po ako. Hindi naman ako nagdalawang salita. Pinagbigyan niya ako,” said Brondial, now a five-time champion, four of which with the Beermen.
“Siguro binabalik ko lang yung tiwala na binigay niya sa akin. Ngayon nga, nakakatuwa kasi na-mention niya ako,” he added.
The veteran forward emerged the unlikely hero in Game 5 when he helped SMB overhaul an early 16-point deficit. He finished 17 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks.
In the clincher, he only had four points and four rebounds but was part of the crew that put on the finishing touches in the final frame.
Brondial played a key role that he, somehow, put himself in the Finals MVP award conversation. But the veteran forward quickly played it down.
“Hindi na sumagi sa isip ko yan kasi role player lang naman ako,” said Brondial.
“At isa pa, mahirap maging finals MVP. Kasi dito, may tradisyon kami na yung nag-Finals MVP yung magbabayad. Lugi ako. Siguro kung papipilin ako, hindi na rin kasi abunado pa ako dyan,” he said in jest, getting laugh from the members of the press.
