Anjo Caram continues to stand tall in 10th year with Meralco
ANTIPOLO CITY – It was the adrenalin rush after being out of action for the past three weeks that pushed Anjo Caram firing on all cylinders upon coming out of the gate in Meralco’s 125-99 rout of Blackwater in the PBA Governors Cup Saturday night.
Anjo Caram returns with a bang
Caram scored 16 points in the first half to set the tone for the Bolts and put an early separation between them and the Bossing at the Ynares Center.
The veteran guard finished with 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range in helping the team notch its third win in four outings.
Beyond the numbers, Caram said he’s simply overjoyed just being back on the court and playing again.
An ankle injury kept him on the sidelines the last two to three weeks.
“Matagal din akong nawala,” said Caram. “This week hinabol ko talaga yung conditioning ko, extra shots after practice. Yun, nagbunga naman. Thank you kay Lord.”
Out of action for a long while, it was indeed, a thrill for Caram when finally he was fielded in by coach Norman Black at the 3:33 mark of the opening quarter.
“Excited din akong maglaro, e. Tapos first game ko this conference. Kaya papunta pa lang dito na-excite na ako, kaya medyo ganado akong maglaro,” he said.
Not long after, Caram showed what he can do for the team after presiding over a huge second quarter run that saw the Bolts scored 36 points on the way to a commanding 67-50 lead at the break.
Incidentally, it was in this same Antipolo playing venue where the point guard out of San Beda registered a career-best of 30 points – including 16 in the fourth period – in a 103-89 blowout of NorthPort in the 2019 Governors Cup.
The feat made him the shortest player (5-6 3/4) in PBA history ro score at least 30 points in a game.
“Pumasok din sa isip ko yun nung after ng first half,” said a smiling Caram. “Pero hindi ko naman hinahabol (yung record). Sa akin kung ano lang yung binibigay sa akin ng defense. Kung maka-score ako, maka-score yung mga teammate ko, masaya naman ako dun. Basta as a team, maganda lang yung tinatakbo namin.”
The guard from Iloilo City expressed how grateful he is for Meralco, where, better believed it, he’s celebrating his 10th year with the organization after being selected in the third round by the Bolts in the 2013 draft.
“Grateful din ako sa Meralco it’s my 10th year na rin dito,” he said. “Ang iniisip ko palagi yung mga small things na kaya kong ibigay sa court at makatulong para manalo.”
