Pringle proves his worth

JAKARTA — Stanley Pringle made Tab Baldwin look good.

After being labeled as the “Best Guard in Asia” by a seasoned international coach in Baldwin, Pringle responded by delivering a dazzling performance for Gilas Pilipinas in the men’s basketball competition of the 18th Asian Games here.

Pringle hit the ground running as he towed the Filipinos to an early 16-5 lead to help the Philippines dictate the tempo en route to a 96-59 victory over Kazakhstan.

He finished with a game-high 18 points, four rebounds and two assists while hounding the Kazakhstan backcourt all game long with his airtight perimeter defense.

With that, the Kazakhs had 22 turnovers while the Filipinos had only nine.

Although sideliners believe that what Pringle displayed was just a mere fraction of his brilliance, the Filipino-American playmaker said he only played his role.

“I have nothing but respect for him (Baldwin), but I’m always playing to be the best player I want to be,” Pringle told Daily Tribune, whose coverage of the Asiad is supported by Primehomes, shortly after torching the giants from Central Asia.

“I don’t want to come after my title or anything. I just want to be the best guard I can be, work to improve, adjust and correct my mistakes as a team player.”

Against Kazakhstan, his first major international competition, Pringle’s basketball brilliance was in full display as he managed to tweak the offense despite the disruption created by the defense.

“The ball slipped from my hands about three times, but other than that, I just tweaked the offense a little bit. I know when to attack and when to pull it out, run different sets on the ball screen.”

In a podcast, Baldwin emphasized that Pringle would be a force in Asian basketball.

And all it took was just one game for Pringle to prove it. JM