Jio Jalalon, who was drafted by Magnolia and played for eight years in the PBA, is looking forward to a new chapter in his career with NorthPort.

Even if he does miss his old Magnolia colleagues, Jalalon claimed to be seeing the positive aspects of the situation, such as the fact that he is still competing in the PBA.

“We are good. Moving forward. At least, I’m blessed with NorthPort. Basketball pa rin. I have a PBA (team),” Jalalon stated on Monday at the Le Parc Events Hall at the PBA Media Day.

“As a basketball player, kailangan nating tanggapin every team kasi sa mga trabaho namin, hindi naman natin masasabi kung hanggang kailangan ka mag-stay team sa pinaka-unang una mong team. We are good. I’m still happy dahil nandito pa rin ako sa PBA. Ibang team lang ‘yung napuntahan ko. NorthPort pa rin. We are good. Moving forward. I’ve moved on,” He remarked.

With the Batang Pier, the 32-year-old Jalalon was thrown into a more significant role as a starter and a leader; he is eager to apply this challenge with NorthPort.

The 5-foot-9 Jalalon will also play a more active role on attack during his time at NorthPort, but defense will always come first.

Meanwhile, the initial impression of acquiring a 41-year-old player with 17 seasons of experience in the PBA and wear on his knees might raise some doubts. 

However, first impressions can be misleading. It appears that Alex Cabagnot still possesses a significant amount of skill on the court.

“He looked really good today. You couldn’t tell his age. Very fundamentally sound,” The Fil-Am from California, who played in a scrimmage with the FiberXers at the Gatorade Hoops Center, was spoken about by Converge assistant coach Charles Tiu.

It is uncertain whether he will be a starter, but the 6-foot, 180-pound point guard will have a reasonable opportunity. In addition to having the experience of a 9-time champion, Cabagnot is an established leader, an 8-time All-Star, and a Finals MVP as recently as seven years ago. 

Originally selected by the now-defunct Santa Lucia Realtors in 2005, Cabagnot played in 700 PBA games, averaging 12.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.

Converge believes that the former Beerman has the potential to enhance the performance of the FiberXers team, which had an average of only 95.7 points per game in the last conference and a shooting percentage of 42.6 from the field and 32.4 from 3-point range. 

His rapport with Converge’s active consultant Rajko Toromoan is an additional advantage. This familiarity will assist the FiberXers in gaining stability as they recover from a 2-9 finish in the Philippine Cup.