NBA veteran Al Thornton suprised by physicality in PBA

 

NBA star Al Thornton had a solid PBA debut for NLEX with 28 points and 12 rebounds in their loss against Rain or Shine, but the import admitted that he was surprised with the physicality of the league.

 

"It's more physical than I thought," said the 6-foot-8 big man, who drew 10 fouls for a 9-of-12 clip from the charity stripe. "It got me caught off guard a little bit."

 

Thornton played 38 minutes for the Road Warriors, struggling from the field with a 9-of-25 shooting. He was limited to nine points in the first half, but found his rhythm in the second to score 19 points.

 

"I heard about the physicality," said the import, who formerly played for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Washington Wizards in the NBA. "It was definitely a surprise though for sure."

 

The NLEX reinforcement said that he was able to adjust during the game, even dealing a huge block against a Gabe Norwood in the fourth, denying a dunk attempt by the Elasto Painter wingman.

 

"I'm used to it now," Thornton said. "I'll be okay."

 

Rain or Shine took control the entire game, but the Road Warriors put up a fight down the stretch, even briefly taking the lead 84-83 after an Asi Taulava putback.

 

With 18.7 seconds left, Thornton threw down a slam to cut the lead to three, 94-91, but NLEX fell short in the endgame.

 

"Just a couple of key possessions and we could have had that game," the import said. "It's definitely a learning experience." — JST, GMA News