The Maverick

Photo: Manila Bulletin

This writer has to be honest with you, as a former Rain or Shine Elastopainters fan during head coach Yeng Guiao's initial run, I was not too thrilled when the team opted to draft one Maverick Ahanmisi over the NCAA triple-double machine Scottie Thompson in the 2015-2016 PBA Draft.

Sure, he was a legitimate US NCAA Division 1 talent for the University of Minnesota, but he averaged a little under 3 points and 1 rebound a game for his entire career. Though we were already in the age of social media, there was simply little to no talk of his game-- which was telling at the time, considering every Fil-foreigner looking for a PBA run had a (self-made) video montage on YouTube already (re: Julius Pasculado.

Additionally, this was during RoS' Paul Lee's final year with the team. So there was pressure from fans and management to find someone suitable to carry the team post-Lee. That being said, Lee left (after winning a title mid-season), Guiao left, and Ahanmisi averaged a little under 10 points and 3 assists in 25-26 minutes of play.

Not really Lee-worthy.

In 2019, Ahanmisi was traded to the former Alaska Aces, now Converge FiberXers. His numbers still looked eerily similar, and I thought Ahanmisi was more serviceable as a role player than a PBA superstar. Nothing wrong with it, but a bit underwhelming, considering his pedigree.

Fast forward to March 2023, and Ahanmisi has become one of the most feared PBA point guards today. Under head coach Aldin Ayo, Ahanmisi has been on a tear as of late, scoring anywhere from the 25 to 30s mark on an offense built on driving hard to the rim and knocking down treys.

He's going on a tear while coming off the bench for an offense that revolves mainly around the import Jamal Franklin (a high-scoring perimeter monster) and Alaska/Converge favorite Jeron Teng (still). He's become so impressive that, there has been a lot of chatter on social media why he was not included in the upcoming PBA All Star Weekend festivities-- not even as a reserve.

Still, there's a lot of excitement for Maverick and his fans. It appears that he has finally found a true home in the PBA, under coach Ayo. And, should fate ever deem it to be, he might also get a look from foreign leagues who are now, more than ever, been actively looking at Filipino basketball talent to shore up their teams.

Now, if only Maverick can convince his import to not take only 5 shots in a crucial Playoff positioning game.