PBA: Back from injury, Anjo Caram makes presence felt right away for Meralco

ANTIPOLO-Despite his small frame, Anjo Caram has been able to enjoy a long PBA career. In fact, he is in his 10th PBA season—spending his entire pro year with the Meralco franchise.

A sterling job on Saturday night illustrated why the 5-foot-7 cager’s career has been so good. Caram had 18 points in the Bolts’ 125-99 manhandling of Blackwater at the Ynares Center here.

“I haven’t been able to practice for three weeks. This week, I tried to make up for the lost time and raise my condition (level), take extra shots after training,” Caram told reporters.

“Today it paid off, and I thank God,” he said.

Caram was big in the first half, scoring 16 of his total output in the first period to help Meralco to a 67-50 cushion at the break.

He continued to focus on playmaking in the second half, helping the Bolts get back into the win column and improve their record to 3-1 in the Governors Cup.

Norman Black, as expected, was delighted with the performance of his surroundings, even explaining how integral Caram is to the club.

“We’re trying to develop a first and second team that we can rely on in every game and Anjo is really a big part of the second team for us. For him to come in and do it today really gives us a big lift,” he said in a conversation after the game.

“We’re a little bit hurt because he’s been out … with an injury. He’s had a chipped cone on his leg. Having him back, like I said, helps the second team, helps (Chris) Banchero because he doesn’t have to hold the ball. Anjo is a shooter who good. He doesn’t shoot a lot, but when he does, he usually makes it. It gives us a lot of stability in the second team.

Making Caram’s performance last night even more impressive was the fact that he was coming off a leg injury.

“I just have to wait for the swelling to go down,” he said. “I just have to be ready. My role here is to provide energy from the bench. I guess we could just run the play and show the basketball. All our hard work in training paid off,” he said.

It is worth noting that Sunday’s lauded score was not the first for Caram. It can be recalled that he shot 30 points against NorthPort in November 2019, also in the same summit.

“I thought about it for the first half as well,” he said of his career. “But that’s not what I’m here for.”

“I know that my weakness is that I’m small, so I have to find an edge when I’m on the field,” he said. “Hustle, defense, leadership. [I need] to be stable as a point guard. That’s all he thinks to help the team to win.

The important thing for Caram is that his team can be successful.

“I just deal with what the defense gives me. If I’m happy it doesn’t matter if it’s me or my teammates who score. The most important thing is that as a team, we play well.

He was hoping for one more thing, though.

“I hope we play another game in Antipolo,” he said with a smile.

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