Rain or Shine rookie Adrian Nocum has no qualms going through some initiation from San Miguel Beer veterans during his first game in the PBA.

In fact, he actually relished the chance to go up against the likes of Jericho Cruz and Chris Ross, who, at some point in the game, welcomed him to the big league with some physical hits and trash talks.

“Sarap sa feeling na makalaro lalo na San Miguel kaagad ang kalaban. Mga beterano. Binigay ko lang ‘yung best effort ko. ‘Yun naman ang sinasabi sa amin ni coach,” said Nocum who had a solid debut after finishing with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.

With the stellar debut though, Nocum caught the attention of the Beermen, Cruz and Ross in particular who both made sure to introduce the PBA brand of play to the 24th overall pick of the recent draft.

Nocum found himself down for the count after getting slapped to the face by Cruz at the 1:35 mark of the opening frame after scoring off an offensive rebound. He was later seen jockeying for position with Ross who he revealed had some words for him.

“Okay lang naman sanay naman sa ganung pisikalan,” Nocum said about Cruz’s hit. “Iyon naman, sinasabi niya (Ross) sa akin na wala na raw ako sa college ball game kasi pine-pressure ko siya ayun okay naman din,” he added.

Nocum not only made an impression to get the attention of the opposing team’s veterans but also earned the trust of his head coach Yeng Guiao who left him on the floor during the crucial moments of the game.

“We know what his capabilities are. Hindi pa nga siya talaga pure point guard. Mas dos pa siya. Pero we could easily see that he can adapt to the point guard position really well. Pinakita naman niya kanina. May depensa, magaling dumepensa, may rebounding, kayang umiskor,” said Guiao who has a knack for discovering and honing young talents in the PBA

For Nocum, though, he believes he still has a lot to improve on especially if he wants to repay Guiao’s trust every time he is on the floor during the winning moments.

“Kailangan ‘yung mga decision-making, mas lalong tumalino sa court. Nagulat ako na first game ko, ako ‘yung nasa crucial. Kailangan mas lalo kong pag-aralan ‘yung mga ganung sitwasyon,” he added.