ANTIPOLO CITY, Philippines – Slowly but surely, Paul Zamar now feels at home with new team San Miguel following his trade from Blackwater last season. 

Coming off back-to-back quiet performances, the 31-year-old sophomore proved his worth as he helped the Beermen trounce Meralco, 105-93, for their second straight win in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup on Friday, January 25.

He had 11 points, 3 assists and a steal in 18 minutes of action, a major upgrade from his first two games that saw him go scoreless in a win over Barangay Ginebra and wound up with 3 points in an upset loss to Columbian. 

“Finally, oo,” Zamar said when asked if he has settled down with San Miguel. “Pero siyempre, mahaba pa ‘yung season, I still have a lot of work to do, especially sa defense. But one step at a time, makukuha ko rin.”

(Finally, I’ve settled down. But of course, the season is still long and I still have a lot of work to do, especially on the defensive end. But one step at a time, I know I will get everything I need to know.) 

A star for Mono Vampire in the ASEAN Basketball League and a key contributor for the Elite last year, Zamar has taken a reduced role in a Beermen squad featuring a star-studded roster. 

San Miguel boasts one of the most potent starting lineups in June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross while also having Terrence Romeo and Christian Standhardinger in tow. 

But Zamar sees no problem with taking a back seat. 

“Para sa akin, acceptance lang naman sa role. Siyempre dito sa San Miguel, tanggap ko naman na ‘di ako first, second, third, or even fourth option,” he said.

(For me, it’s all about accepting your role. Here in San Miguel, I’ve already accepted that I won’t be a first, second, third, or even fourth option.) 

“Basta susuportahan ko lang sila June Mar, sila Marcio, sila Arwind. Kung saan ‘yung direction nila, doon din ako papunta.” 

(What I will do is just support June Mar, Marcio, Arwind and the others. No matter what their direction is, that’s where I will go.) 

He also relishes his reunion with father Boycie, who is a deputy in San Miguel. 

“Noong una, noong nagsama kami sa Cebuana, parang disadvantage siya kasi dinidibdib ko lahat ng sinasabi niya eh. Immature pa ako noon,” Zamar said. 

(When we were in Cebuana, it was a disadvantage for me because I took his words the wrong way. I was still immature then.)

“But now it’s a good advantage, ‘di niya napapansin ‘yung mga magandang ginagawa ko, ‘yung mga mali para nako-correct ko ‘yung sarili ko. Also, naga-guard ko ‘yung sarili ko sa pag-relax.” 

(But now, it’s a good advantage. He doesn’t notice the good things I’m doing and only tells me the bad things so I can correct myself. With that, I get to make sure that I don’t relax.) – Rappler.com