Reden Celda spent the first six seasons of his PBA career with the Terrafirma Dyip franchise, where he was a reliable back-up point guard and was popular among his teammates.
But after his contract wasn't renewed in 2021, he wandered in the minor leagues before the NLEX Road Warriors signed him to a one-conference deal last season.
Initially, he was on the Road Warriors' roster for the PBA On Tour, but he was released after their first two games after averaging just 2.0 points in around eight minutes.
Luckily for him, Phoenix Super LPG picked him up, and he is making the most of his new latest chance at extending his PBA career.
On Friday night, he had his best game yet in the Tour. It was no surprise that it came against the Dyip.
Celda led the team in scoring with 19 points in 23 minutes as the Fuel Masters snapped a three-game losing streak with a 104-92 win. He insisted, though, that it wasn't a "revenge game."
"Wala naman. Ang goal lang namin ngayon, manalo talaga. Yun lang ang nasa isip namin. Grateful din naman ako sa Terrafirma kasi ilan taon din ako doon. Kung baga sila ang nagbukas ng pinto sa akin sa PBA. Goal lang namin is to win the game, so iyon ang nangyari ngayon."
But for Fuel Masters interim coach Willie Wilson, filling in for Jamike Jarin who was attending a niece's wedding, Celda's explosion was totally expected.
"Usually when you face your former team, you get up a little bit more for that game, and he came today to play."
Asked if they had talked about it beforehand, Wilson shook his head.
"No, no. we don't do anything like that. It's kind of unwritten already from one player to another. You already know that. 'Hey, it's your former team.' I mean, you've played with all those guys. You're very familiar with what they do. It's almost like you're pretty much in one of your old practices."
Celda certainly didn't look like he was on a mission to show up his former team as he was seen joking and smiling with his ex-teammates.
"Oo nga, nagbibiruan nga kami sa court," he said. "Enjoy lang. Aggressive lang ako."
Celda said he's adjusting well to his new teammates, who have gone out of their way to make him feel at home as he tries to learn Jarin's system.
"Okay naman. Mga bata. Enjoy kami sa practice, at the same time, ang sisipag. Ang sisipang ng mga kasama ko."
And at 31, he's had to accept a new role as a veteran on a Fuel Masters team that has several players below the age of 25.
"Oo nga eh," he said about being an elder statesman. "Kung wala si RJ (Jazul) at si RR (Garcia), ako na ang pinakamatanda. Mga bata na lahat.
"Parang hindi ko na rin makita sarili ko (as a veteran) kasi hindi rin naman ako naglaro ng matagal sa (Terrafirma). Tapos nag pandemic pa so hindi counted iyon. Pero kung sa years, six years veteran na rin."
Wilson said the team was lucky to get Celda.
"He fits in really well with us. He's a high-tempo type of player and we like to do that. Obviously you've seen that. We're not really getting the really big guys so we have to figure out how to play a different style of basketball and he fits in perfectly with that."
Celda said playing for Jarin has been almost seamless.
"Si Coach Jamike, magaling on and off the court. So mabilis ang adjustment ko sa mga teammate ko. Mababait pa. Tinuturuan ako ng mga adjustments lalo na sa depensa. So mabilis ang adjustment."