Rain or Shine's Mike Nieto rewarded for hard work with impressive debut

MANILA, Philippines — Rain or Shine Elasto Painters' Mike Nieto had a dream debut as a PBA rookie in his team's 104-90 win over the NorthPort Batang Pier on Saturday.

In just his first game as a professional hooper, the former Ateneo standout tallied a team-high 21 points to pace the Elasto Painters to the victory.

And his success was no accident, says RoS coach Chris Gavina.

Speaking to the press after the game, Gavina said that Nieto's big-time performance was a product of all the work that he's done.

"I've never seen anyone have more wood burns on his first day of practice than Mike Nieto for as long as I've been here," Gavina said.

"Just credit to the type of player that he is, the intensity and effort that he brings day in and day out. He probably works harder in practice than the game," he added.

Nieto, along with his brother Matt, were among the players released by Gilas Pilipinas to their respective PBA teams after drafting them in a special "Gilas draft" in 2019.

It was just last week that Nieto signed a two-year deal with RoS to begin his professional career.

Despite being a newcomer, Gavina lauded Nieto's effort to impact the game to lead them to victory.

"I'm really glad he came in and injected the energy and the effort for us to come out with the big win tonight," he said.

Nieto and the rest of RoS hope to continue on rolling as they attempt to rise above .500 when they play the Alaska Aces next on Thursday.