Player of the Week Nov. 1 to 7

ANY extreme competitor relishes the opportunity to play against the best and Rain or Shine guard
Sol Mercado wants to grab the chance any time one comes along.

That is why Mercado shone the brightest when the Elasto Painters played the San Miguel Beermen last
Sunday in the 2010-11 PBA Philippine Cup, coming up with sterling numbers that made him the
unanimous choice as the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period Nov. 1 to 7.

The fifth pick overall in the 2008 Draft scored a personal conference-high 26 points, anchored on
6-for-12 three-point shooting, and also had eight assists, four rebounds and one steal in leading
RoS to a 110-107 come-from-behind win.

“What a great game to play in!” said the 26-year-old. “San Miguel is such a talented team and
I believe the best team in the league, so definitely a huge win for us. It’s always fun playing
against them, especially for me, because I’m such a competitor that I love the challenge of taking
them down.”

The man nicknamed as the “Sol Train” does not want to hog all the credit in the Painters’
fourth win in eight games, however.

“We seemed really focused before the game so I felt pretty confident in our guys. Gabe (Norwood),
Doug (Kramer) and Larry (Rodriguez) stepped up big for us with key rebounds and crucial free
throws.”

It was actually the second straight game Mercado stood out for the youth-laden team co-owned by
Terry Que and Raymund Yu. In a 98-86 win over Barako Bull the Sunday before, he had 21 points, four
rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Now, Mercado is taking a short leave from the league as he joins fellow PBA players Kelly Williams
and Asi Taulava and the rest of the Smart Gilas team representing the country in the Guangzhou Asian
Games set Nov. 12 to 27.

One is totally sure Mercado is bringing with him his single-minded determination to China.

“I’m really excited to play with Gilas and for coach (Rajko) Toroman,” he said. “We have a
great bunch of guys and coach Toroman is one of the best coaches I have ever played for. I can tell
just from practicing with them.

“It’s truly an honor to finally be part of representing our country in the Asian Games. I’m
looking forward to bring home the medal. I really believe in us.” (NC)