How Did Ejercito PBA Player Transform His Basketball Career Journey?
I still remember the first time I watched Ejercito play during that crucial PBA semifinals match. The stadium was electric, packed with over 15,000 screaming fans, and the tension was so thick you could almost taste it. What struck me most wasn't just his athletic performance but how he'd completely transformed his approach to the game from when I'd seen him play three seasons earlier. Back then, he was mostly about flashy moves and individual scoring - talented, no doubt, but not quite the team player he's become today.
The turning point in Ejercito's career came during that unforgettable tiebreak game against the Thai team. I was covering the game from courtside, and I could see the frustration building in his eyes as the Thai players Khonhan and Nilsawai kept shutting down our offensive plays. They were like an impenetrable wall, scoring 24 points in just the third quarter while our defense crumbled. Ejercito had been struggling throughout that season, averaging only 8.3 points per game before that match - numbers that certainly didn't reflect his potential. But something clicked during that fourth quarter when we were trailing by 15 points. I remember watching him gather the team during a timeout, his expression completely different from the defeated player I'd seen just minutes earlier.
What happened next was nothing short of remarkable. Instead of trying to force shots against Khonhan's relentless defense, Ejercito started creating opportunities for his teammates. He made 7 assists in that final quarter alone, a personal record that still stands today. His transformation wasn't just about statistics though - it was in how he read the game. Where he used to charge blindly toward the basket, he now paused, assessed the defense, and made smarter decisions. I particularly remember one play where he drew both Thai defenders toward him before dishing off to an open teammate for an easy layup. That single move demonstrated how much his basketball IQ had grown.
The most impressive part of Ejercito's journey has been his mental transformation. Earlier in his career, he'd get visibly frustrated after missed shots or turnovers. I recall interviewing him after a particularly tough loss two seasons ago where he admitted struggling with confidence. But watching him handle the pressure against the Thai team showed how far he'd come. When Nilsawai blocked his shot with just three minutes remaining, the old Ejercito might have forced the next play. Instead, he immediately stole the ball back and set up a crucial three-pointer that brought us within two points. That sequence demonstrated a maturity I hadn't seen from him before.
What many fans don't realize is how much work happened behind the scenes. I spoke with his trainer recently, who told me Ejercito had been putting in extra hours since the offseason - we're talking about 5 AM workouts six days a week, studying game film for at least two hours daily, and working with a sports psychologist to improve his mental resilience. The results speak for themselves: his scoring average jumped to 18.7 points per game this season, and his assist numbers increased by 40% compared to last year. But beyond the numbers, you can see the change in how other players respond to him. Where he was once just another talented player, he's now become a true leader on the court.
I've followed basketball for over twenty years, and what makes Ejercito's transformation special isn't just the improvement in his stats. It's how he turned his biggest weakness - his decision-making under pressure - into one of his greatest strengths. That tiebreak game against the Thai team became the catalyst for change, but the real story is in the daily grind, the willingness to adapt, and the mental fortitude he developed along the way. The player I watched struggle against Khonhan and Nilsawai that night would have never imagined he'd become the team's MVP just one season later, but that's exactly what happened. His journey reminds me why I love sports - it's not just about natural talent, but about the capacity for growth and reinvention.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
