Minions grow as Monfort's legend grows

MANILA, Philippines – Every single game, Emman Monfort’s legend grows and so does his minions.  

PBA fans have called him the “Super Minion”, the “Deadly Minion”, the “Man with a Minion moves” but truth be told, Monfort isn’t just a “Minion”.

While his tiny 5-foot-6 frame is as cute as the "minions" in the movie Despicable Me, Monfort plays the exact opposite.

On Friday night, Monfort continue to show leadership that is so rare to be seen in a rookie.  

Brgy. Ginebra almost recovered from 18 points down and from losing 6-foot-9 center Japeth Aguilar to a nasty fall early in the game to threaten at 80-87 midway through the fourth quarter.

But the 5-foot-6 rookie personally slayed the Kings’ giant 11-0 run presiding over Barako Bull’s next seven unanswered points.

Monfort found an open Ronjay Buenafe near the basket to jumpstart the dizzying sequence that had him intercepting a pass, drill a three-pointer all the way from his hometown Iloilo and capped it off with a fastbreak layup.

It was the killer stretch that Barako Bull needed all along to take the life out of the Kings as its lead shoot up to 14, 94-80, with a little over four minutes. Thanks to Monfort, the Energy Colas picked up their third straight win, 104-91, to catch Petron at 3-1 on top of the standings. 

“He’s a small guy but with a big heart and [plays] very smart on the court,” said Rajko Toroman of his pint-sized point guard who finished with a career-high 25 points on 5-of-10 three-pointers aside from two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

And Monfort isn’t just a one-game wonder.

He triggered the “Minion-mania” in the PBA this conference with a nine-point, eight-assist effort against Talk n Text in a gallant stand by Barako Bull in an overtime loss. Between that spectacular debut and this game was a 22-point explosion versus Chris Ross and the Meralco Bolts followed up by a 12-point and 6-assist showing against Mike Cortez and the Air21 Express.

“These past few games, you saw his potential and it’s good for the PBA to see somebody steps up big on the court even if he’s small,” Toroman told Philstar.com.

And the scary part is the way he owned the established point guards in the league like he’s been around for quite some time now.

“Idol ko si kuya LA, isa sa mga rason kaya nga ako nag-Ateneo dahil sa kaniya,” Monfort said after the game. “I prepared hard kung paano ko siya depensahan, kung paano ko  siya atakihin.”

After scoring a career-high 34 points against Meralco last week, Monfort and the rest of Barako Bull held Tenorio to just four points on 1-of-10 shooting.  

“Siya ang isa sa mga inspiration ko. He was the one talking to me when I was still in Team B (in Ateneo),” Monfort said.

Monfort is using every window of opportunity that comes his way.

He did it in college when he grew up from being a reserve player to a champion point guard. And he’s doing it again in the PBA seizing the opportunity with Barako Bull’s erstwhile starting point guard Jonas Villanueva still recovering from an ACL injury.

“It’s all about the competition,” Monfort told Philstar.com. “Si coach Rajko sinasabi lagi sa amin na ‘don’t go easy’ on drills, shooting and everything.”

“Niloloko nga namin siya lagi na Mr. Fast kasi lagi niya sinasabi ‘faster, faster, faster,’ pero totoo yan because it’s all about going hard, working hard and success will just come.”

In that aspect, Monfort is perhaps, Toroman's ultimate "Minion". But on the court, the 24-year old rookie is the leader of Barako Bull that commands the respect of even the players he grew up idolizing. 

Danny Seigle trusts him with the ball. Dorian Pena and Mick Pennisi give him hard picks. And Monfort isn't failing them with every spectacular move that keeps fans amaze and leaves opponents in daze. 

As Monfort’s minions grow in numbers, his game continues to grow in strength.