MANILA, Philippines — To most players looking for a team, a record-breaking losing streak is considered a deterent — a red flag even.
But for Blackwater Bossing's new import Jaylen Bond, the challenge of attempting to lift his team out of the gutter becomes a driving factor to bring his best game to the Philippines.
"It gives me extra motivation for sure, just to get that first win out of the way," Bond, a first-time PBA import, told Noli Eala on his radio show Power & Play on Saturday.
"[It's] something that I'm going to work hard for and I know my teammates are going to work hard for as well," he added.
The 28-year-old out of Norristown, Pennsylvania joins a Blackwater team that is in the midst of a 19-game losing streak — the longest in the history of the PBA.
The Bossing are also in the middle of rebuilding as they trade players in and out of the team and have a new coach coming in as well.
But Bond, who played a season in the NBA G League (then known as the NBA D-League), believes there is no way but up for his new team.
"We just come together, continue to build up chemistry and hopefully that translates into a win for us," he said.
The 6'8" big man looks to play his part well for the Bossing with more than enough experience in professional leagues overseas.
After graduating from Temple in 2016, Bond has since played in leagues in Italy, UAE, and Bahrain.
Now with Asia's oldest professional hoops league, Bond wants to pull out all the stops to show the PBA what he's got.
"Just [to be] somebody that's going to play hard, you know? That's gonna compete on both ends of the court," he said.
"Just gonna give my all every time I'm out on the court,"
Bond is one of the new faces expected to join the PBA in the upcoming Governor's Cup slated to begin before the month ends.
However, reports have surfaced that the conference will likely open early December as teams await the arrival of their reinforcements from overseas.