Ang batang Maliksi

Ang batang Maliksi
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

When the San Mig Coffee Mixers’ Allein Maliksi first came into the league by way of the Barako Bull Energy, he quickly started to make a name for himself as a wiry and creative scorer reminiscent of 90s Pinoy superstars Kenneth Duremdes, Vergel Meneses and Bong Alvarez.

You know what we’re talking about. Guys who just make the game look easy, shooting jumpshots, driving to the hoop and throwing in a dunk or two from time to time.

So it really shouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Maliksi finding a niche with the Mixers this PBA Governor’s Cup (or even when he was briefly sent to Barangay Ginebra then back to Barako Bull). The 2011 PBA D-League Best Player of the Conference is blessed with a PBA stardom-ready body frame standing 6”3 and weighing a fit 180 lbs. (again, Duremdes II). Despite playing only 24 minutes a game, Maliksi is averaging a respectable 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in Mixers’ head coach Tim Cone’s “new” spread-out offense wherein everyone gets a chance to score.

How good has Maliksi been?

Well, let’s just say that Maliksi is having the PBA career that we thought one time UAAP MVP contender, Ateneo Blue Eagle and now Barako Bull player JC Intal would have in the pros.

So far, Intal’s looked a lot like a big name journeyman (a small forward, modern-day version of Chris Bolado) who can play the game with the best of them, but not make much of an impact overall.

Another guy who fits the Maliksi mold is his teammate Val Acuna. Of the two, you could argue that Acuna is the more creative scorer with the difference showing in two big categories that basketball hopefuls should pay attention to: basic basketball and gym training.

We’re not saying that Acuna hasn’t been going to the gym, but the Maliksi today is a far cry from the bald one that we saw in college (being a fellow Thomasian and maybe his senior by a year or two—the dude was a skinny, lanky kid stuck in Team B for a long time).

So yeah, he’s clearly put in the effort in the gym. No one’s born with Kevin Durant or Reggie Miller like marksmanship, and this is the land of “no blood, no foul” so yes, you need to get stronger to play in the pros.

Then there are the basics. Despite his stellar high-wire acts, Maliksi is actually a deadly jumpshooter with great form (above and over his peers). It’s no surprise that he’s managed to steal some of the limelight away from his “kuya” 2x PBA MVP James Yap since he’s scoring his points only when Yap and the other seniors aren’t busy taking 85% of the shots. 

Right now, Maliksi is already a borderline star if not for his more established teammates. Our only gripe is that he is playing behind volume shooters/ scorers or guys who are playing the same position in Yap, Peter June Simon and even Joe DeVance.

Put Maliksi on a cellar-dwelling team and he’s bound to be an MVP contender. Put him on a title team and he’ll still be a big time contributor.

Now if only someone could make him a non-geeky movie/ commentator’s own insecurity-related moniker…