“He was okay,” was Luigi Trillo’s blunt assessment of import Marvin Jones’ debut for the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday in their 109-88 thrashing of the Converge FiberXers in PBA Commissioner’s Cup action.
Jones, who was a last-minute replacement for original choice Ismael Romero, had 29 points on 12-for-19 shooting on top of 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. More importantly, he helped Meralco to a winning debut in the PBA’s midseason tourney despite being the last import to come to town.
“We had one game with him. But pag ganito, hindi mo naman sigurado. We need to see him up close in a real game, and I thought he handled it pretty well…” Trillo said of Jones.
Areas of Improvement for Marvin Jones
Notably, Marvin Jones had an “okay” game against a team Trillo described as possibly having the second-strongest lineup on paper. That lineup, incidentally, boasts the twin towers of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar, alongside a legit 7-footer in G League standout Kylor Kelley. But, according to Trillo, Meralco’s import “held his own” against such a talented frontline. Even so, Trillo was particular about the things Marvin Jones will need to work on moving forward.
“He [Marvin Jones] held his own, shot 63% from the field, 50% from threes,” Trillo said. “But I’d like to see him rebound the ball better. He only had 8 rebounds because sometimes he plays on the perimeter too much. Hopefully, he can improve that part of his game. He also had 5 turnovers, which have to be improved din.”
Fortunately for the Bolts, Marvin Jones will have two days to adjust to the Filipino brand of basketball before he returns to action, this time against the 2-0 Phoenix Fuel Masters. And he will be challenged for sure by the frontcourt of James Dickey III, Jason Perkins, and Kai Ballungay.
Meaning, Marvin Jones will have to be more than okay on Saturday.
