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Another journey begins for RR Garcia, this time in SMB

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/sports/11/08/110816-rrgarcia.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">RR Garcia (12) looks to make a play against Barangay Ginebra. Photo courtesy of the PBA Media Bureau.</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – As he prepares to play for his fourth team in three years, former UAAP Most Valuable Player RR Garcia is banking on the experience he gained and the hard work he put in the hopes of finally finding a home in San Miguel.Originally drafted by GlobalPort before being traded to Barako, Garcia was sent to the Star Hotshots in May where he appeared to finally carve out a space for himself.But a trade for Paul Lee, as well as the selection of Jiovani Jalalon in the rookie draft, created a logjam in Star&#x27;s backcourt and effectively rendered Garcia expendable. He was eventually sent to San Miguel as part of a three-team trade with Mahindra in the off-season.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/basketball/news/2016/10/24/austria-remains-inspired-despite-back-back-coy-honors-16998">READ: Austria remains inspired despite back-to-back CoY honors</a></li></ul>&quot;Bagong journey,&quot; Garcia said in the sidelines of San Miguel&#x27;s practice on Monday. &quot;&#x27;Di naman siguro natin maiiwasan &#x27;yan, kasi professional tayo.&quot;&quot;Trabaho lang,&quot; he said.[It&#x27;s a new journey. We can&#x27;t avoid is, because we&#x27;re professionals. I just need to work.]Garcia is thankful for the Star organization for giving him a chance. He averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 11 games for the Hotshots in the Governors&#x27; Cup, which saw the team win only twice. One of those victories proved to be a signature moment for Garcia, however, as he scored 26 points in a 105-102 overtime win over GlobalPort that saw him out-duel former teammate Terrence Romeo.&quot;Marami ako natutunan sa kanila,&quot; Garcia said of the Hotshots. &quot;Siguro, kung ano &#x27;yung naipakita ko, walang magbabago, at do-doblehin ko pa.&quot;[I learned a lot from Star. What I showed then, I&#x27;ll just show it in San Miguel too and work even harder.]Garcia now joins a San Miguel team that is out to defend its title in the All-Filipino Cup. Given the dominance of June Mar Fajardo, as well as the scoring ability of SMB&#x27;s other players, Garcia can focus on playing point guard full time.&quot;Nakapag-adjust na ako,&quot; said Garcia. &quot;&#x27;Di naman mahirap… Kinausap din ako ni Coach Leo (Austria). Kung ano ang minutes na ibibigay sa akin, gagawin ko lang kasi alam naman natin na champion team ito eh.&quot;[I&#x27;m adjusting. It&#x27;s not that difficult. Coach Leo talked to me already, and whatever minutes he gives me, I&#x27;ll just do my job especially since I know I&#x27;m joining a champion team.]&quot;As a point guard, kailangan kung ano &#x27;yung ibibigay sa akin, gagampanan ko &#x27;yun,&quot; he added. &quot;Ang daming star player dito, so kailangan, i-set up ko sila.&quot;[As a point guard, I need to do the task that is given to me. There are a lot of star players here so I need to set them up.]San Miguel has several veteran guards who have played huge roles in their recent campaigns, from Chris Ross to Marcio Lassiter to Alex Cabagnot. Yet Austria believes Garcia&#x27;s addition is crucial, as he can shift Cabagnot to the shooting guard position especially in bench units.&quot;&#x27;Yung pagpasok ni RR, almost complete na (ang backcourt),&quot; Austria explained. &quot;I can concentrate Alex to two-guard, dahil capable naman siya umiskor. As a point guard, apektado &#x27;yung kanyang distribution dahil he can score.&quot;&quot;So pwede nating gawin si RR &#x27;yung point guard, reliever ni Chris Ross, or the other way around, depende sa kalaban,&quot; he added.[With RR, we&#x27;re almost complete. I can put Alex at the two-guard because he&#x27;s a capable scorer, and sometimes his ball distribution suffers because he knows he can score. Now, we can put RR at the point guard, as Chris Ross&#x27; reliever or the other way around, depending on the opponent.]For Austria, having a surplus of guards is a luxury, especially given the length of the PBA season and the possibility of injuries to key players.&quot;Sakto lang,&quot; he said. &quot;Long season ito eh. If you notice, kaya nag-suffer &#x27;yung team namin (last season), dahil maraming injuries na nangyari sa amin.&quot;&quot;Ngayon, kapag loaded ka ng point guards, marami kang choices, at hindi bugbog &#x27;yung mga players.&quot;[It&#x27;s a long season. If you notice, we suffered last season because of injuries to our players. Now, we have a loaded backcourt so we have more choices, and the players don&#x27;t get banged up.]For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">Sports website.</a>

As he prepares to play for his fourth team in three years, former UAAP Most Valuable Player RR Garcia is banking on the experience he gained and the hard work he put in the hopes of finally finding a home in San Miguel.

As he prepares to play for his fourth team in three years, former UAAP Most Valuable Player RR Garcia is banking on the experience he gained and the hard work he put in the hopes of finally finding a home in San Miguel.