Torion: I’ll make up for lost time

High in ecstasy for good reason this time, Red Bull point guard Jimwell Torion promised to make up for lost time, looking forward to even outdo himself after being reinstated in the Philippine Basketball Association Monday night.

"I’m very happy for my reinstatement. I’m now excited to return to the court to make up for whatever myself, my family and my team lost on my indiscretion," Torion told The STAR in Tagalog.

"I want to thank commissioner Noli Eala for clearing my re-entry into the league. I’ll make sure he’ll not regret his decision because I promise not to commit the same mistake again," added the Cebuano player who considered his reinstatement a big blessing while his wife Maria Sandy is about to give birth to their fifth child.

"I’m happy for Jimwell for his reinstatement. I think he deserves it for his admission of his indiscretion then following the order of the league commissioner to undergo drug rehabilitation program," said Red Bull team manager Tony Chua.

Eala announced his decision to reinstate Torion yesterday during the PSA Forum at the Manila Pavilion sponsored by Pagcor, Red Bull and Agfacolor.

Eala said he’s giving Torion the green light to play again in the PBA in light of his completion of a drug rehab program, good conduct and the clean bill of health issued by league physician Ben Salud.

However, the league commissioner reinstated Torion subject to conditions that the player would undergo drug test every game day and submit a certificate of drug counseling each month until the end of the current season. This means, Torion will continue to attend counseling and therapy at the Life Management Inc. up to the end of the year.

Torion returns to action starting in the Samsung PBA Invitational Cup set to open July 27 at the Astrodome.

"Almost a month na rin akong nageensayo sa team. Tingin ko 100 percent na uli ako," said Torion who was enjoying a great run in his career when suspended indefinitely for testing positive in a random drug test.

Eala said the next case that may soon be reevaluated is that of Noli Locsin since the Talk N Text forward has submitted completion of detoxification procedure.

"We can not allow any kind of appeal process outside our guidelines to progress. Any other documentary or collateral evidence can’t be used to overturn our initial findings. But it can be used in the reevaluation of the cases," said Eala as he pointed out the suspension of the other alleged drug offenders stays.

Meanwhile, the battle for the last berth in the invitational tourney resumes today with a twinbill at the Astrodome pitting Sta. Lucia against Shell and Alaska versus Purefoods.

Alaska and Sta. Lucia, which got as far as the Final Four of the All-Filipino Cup, lead the qualifying phase with identical 1-0 win-loss cards. Shell and idle Ginebra tote 1-1 slates while Purefoods is winless in two games.

Under the qualifying format, the team with the best record at the end of one round gets the last invitational spot. Ties will be broken via the quotient system.

Already assured of berths in the mid-season tourney are Red Bull, Coca-Cola, San Miguel Beer, FedEx and newly-crowned All-Filipino champion Talk n Text. The five and the winner of the qualifying phase will be joined by South Korean entry Yonsei University, Chinese club team Jilin Yiqi Tigers, a Yugoslavian junior team and the Philippine training team.