Poligrates seeks PBA return

Shortly after erupting for 67 points, Eloy Poligrates is setting his sights on a bigger goal — make his way back to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Actually, I had no idea about that record

A hotshot from Southwestern University in Cebu, Poligrates made heads turn when he powered Marinerong Pilipino with 67 points in its 141-97 victory over iWalk in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup late Monday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

He shot 11-of-25 from the rainbow area while gathering five assists and two rebounds for the Skippers, who posted their fifth straight win to capture the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals of Group A.

His scorching performance broke the league record of 58 points posted by James Martinez of AMA in its win over Topstar ZC Mindanao in the Aspirants Cup in 2016.

“This is my first time to come up with an offensive performance like this in bigger venue so I’m really thankful to coach Yong (Garcia) for the confidence he had given me,” Poligrates said, adding that he once torched the net for 18 treys in a small tournament.

“When coach Yong saw that I was on fire, he told me to score at will. I wasn’t thinking about the record. Actually, I had no idea about that record. I just shot the lights out.”

But for Poligrates, breaking record is just the tip of the iceberg.

“I want to return to the PBA,” said the 5-foot-8 playmaker who was drafted by TNT KaTropa with the 27th pick in the 2013 Rookie Draft before bouncing to NLEX and Kia.

He last played for Cebu Sharks in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League before joining the Skippers.

Garcia said realizing his PBA dream isn’t impossible.

“I can see that he is working hard,” he said. “He is working on his development and I think he’s now ready to return to the PBA.”