Ginebra's Malonzo credits teammates for helping him recover from beating incident

MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra forward Jamie Malonzo is moving on from the brawl that left him playing with a black eye against Rain or Shine in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday, as he dropped a career-best game.

About two weeks ago, Malonzo, a member of Gilas Pilipinas, was caught on camera being beaten up by a man.

It supposedly resulted in his absence from Gilas’ dominating 106-53 win over Chinese Taipei in their FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers match on February 25.

Against the Elasto Painters, the 6-foot-7 forward scattered a career-high 32 points for Ginebra, in his first game since the melee.

Still playing with a black eye, the athletic wing acknowledged that the past couple of weeks have “definitely been tough.”

“It’s been a lot for me. Just credit to my team, they’ve been holding me down, checking on me. Throughout that whole process, they have my back. I have to give credit to my team,” an emotional Malonzo told reporters after the game.

“It’s just been tough, going through a lot, fighting through a lot. It hasn’t been easy. It’s difficult to cancel out all the noise and go out there and perform and focus on the game. I’m just happy I was able to do what I did tonight and move forward,” he added.

Malonzo had an all-around game, hauling down eight rebounds, dishing out three assists, blocking four shot attempts and stealing the rock twice.

He also put up 15 points in the first quarter that completely set the tone for the Gin Kings.

“It’s hard to put it into words right now. Just been focusing on practice, staying with my team. Just going day by day.”

For his part, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said that Malonzo “found… a sanctuary in practice and games.”

“He’s back to his comfort zone with his teammates. I think that’s really the key issue for him and it showed tonight in his game that he can put everything behind and just move forward,” Cone underscored.

“We’re actually really proud of Jamie and what he did tonight and how he did and how he came back to practice and just let his game do the talking.”

And with the Gin Kings starting the conference with a win, they are hoping to continue on as they face the Phoenix Fuel Masters next on Sunday, March 10, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.