Expecting only 10 minutes on the floor, Pingris plays 44 in Purefoods win

After his stint with Gilas Pilipinas, Marc Pingris was given Purefoods Star head coach Tim Cone three weeks of rest. It was supposed to be a month but Pingris cut it short after Ian Sangalang tore his ACL during the Hotshots’ first game of the PBA's 40th Season.

Finally returning to action against GlobalPort Batang Pier, the do-it-all forward thought he was going to be eased back into the rotation. He could not have been more wrong.

“Seryoso ako, akala ko talaga 10 minutes lang yung lalaruin ko kasi kakabalik ko pa lang,” said Pingris. "Nagcramps ako kanina pero di ko na inisip. Kailangan naming manalo at sayang rin kasi nandun na rin ako eh.”

Stepping into the PBA floor after weeks of being away from basketball, Pingris was given a stiff test from the get-go as he was tasked to defend top rookie Stanley Pringle, GlobalPort’s cat-quick point guard.

“Nabigla nga ako e. Sinabi ko kay coach wala pa ako sa kundisyon. Pati nga si James [Yap], pinagtatawanan ako,” Pingris admitted. “Magaling na player si Stanley. Sana makatapat ko siya pag mas kundisyon na ako at mas naaral ko na yung laro niya.”

Pingris not only played the most minutes for Purefoods, he played the most minutes in the game. He played a total of 44:13 in the contest while Pringle trailed him at 37:50.

“Okay naman kundisyon ko. Okay yung katawan ko,” Pingris said. “Malaking bagay rin siguro yung pag-bike ko. Nag-ba-bike kasi ako halos four hours. Nakatulong siguro yung sa legs ko.”

Pingris admitted that he still isn’t in top condition as his practice time has been limited.

“Pangatlong practice ko pa lang sa kanila. Wala pang limahan.  Nangangapa pa ako kasi isang buwan rin ako nawala,” he said.

Asked when he thinks he’ll be back to his old Pinoy Sakuragi form, Pingris said, “Sana against Ginebra.”