After being limited to just 60 games the past two seasons with the Terrafirma Dyip, Kevin Ferrer is excited to compete for another championship with powerhouse TNT Tropang 5G.
The past few PBA seasons haven’t been kind to Kevin Ferrer. He’s battled through injuries while coming nowhere near competing for a championship with the NorthPort Batang Pier and the Terrafirma Dyip.
Come the 50th season of the PBA, though, Ferrer will now have a chance to be part of a perennial contender after he signed a one-year deal with the TNT Tropang 5G as an unrestricted free agent.
For the 32-year-old Ferrer, it might be his last chance to win a third PBA title after winning two with Barangay Ginebra.
“Sobrang excited dahil new environment, new team, and new journey,” he said on Thursday during PBA Media Day. “Kinakabahan din kasi parang rookie ulit ako.”
After his contract with the Dyip expired, Ferrer found himself without a team for several months. Finally, he got a call from Tropang 5G assistant coach Josh Reyes.
“Yung manager ko kinausap ni (TNT team manager) Coach Jolas (Jojo Lastimosa),” he said. “Nag-decide talaga ako na new team talaga. Para new environment.”
It won’t be a totally new environment, though, for Kevin Ferrer with TNT, as he already played for Chot Reyes on the Gilas Cadets team 10 years ago.
“Yung experience ko na rin madadala ko sa TNT. And knowing na Coach Chot, matagal na rin kami nagsama and alam ko na rin yung sistema niya. Di rin ako nahirapan dahil same system as Cadets yung sistema.”
Ferrer says he is now fully healed from the series of injuries he sustained over the past few years and is also on a new diet.
“Ngayon almost nakaka-recover na ako,” he said. “Nakita niyo naman na medyo skinny na. Tinutulungan rin nila ako na maka-recover pa.”
Reyes is hoping that Ferrer can help beef up the TNT bench, with Jayson Castro and Poy Erram still in sick bay when the season opens on October 4.
“I think Kevin will play a pretty big role,” he said. “He’s going to bring a lot of veteran smarts and depth to our rotation. As you know, we’re kind of lacking in the big man department, and while Kevin is not exactly a big man, I think he’s going to be an important addition to that spot.”
The Tropang 5G fell two wins short of completing a grand slam last season as injuries to Erram, Calvin Oftana, RR Pogoy, and Jordan Heading finally took their toll. Except for Erram, all those players are now 100% ready to go. Reyes is also banking on new additions Ferrer, Mike Nieto, and Tyrus Hill, to keep them competitive.
“Well, we certainly hope so,” he said of the three new faces. “But we all know how much every team has upgraded, and because we didn’t have a first or second round pick, we were kind of limited in that regard, unlike the other teams.
“But if you look back at last season, I thought we performed pretty well. So it’s a matter of continuing that improvement. We are by no means satisfied with how we finished the season, and we hope to be able to improve on our last All-Filipino placing. But like I said, it’s going to be very, very difficult. We’re surely going to have a huge target on our backs. So we have to be ready.”
Banner images by Sid Ventura