PJ Simon comes out of retirement to reunite with Marc Pingris in MPBL

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After Marc Pingris, it’s now PJ Simon.

Feelings of nostalgia where high as former PBA superstars and teammates Marc Pingris and PJ “The Scoring Apostle” Simon are officially back playing basketball together.

A day after Pingris’ move of joining the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) was confirmed, head coach Charles Tiu followed it up with a bang as he welcomed Simon to the team.

“I would also like to welcome PJ Simon to our team. Isa na lang ang kulang!” Tiu posted in his official Twitter account.

Simon, who hung his jersey last year, was Pingris’ teammate during their glory days with the Purefoods/San Mig Coffee Mixers franchise where they won multiple championships together and formed a big three with James Yap.

The shooting guard was one of the savviest and most creative scorers the PBA has ever seen, earning him the moniker “The Scoring Apostle.”

Able to score inside and outside, Simon proved his worth in the PBA when he won eight PBA championships and eight All-Star appearances in his 16 seasons.

The dynamic duo of Pingris and Simon will try to lead the Rice Vanguards to a great finish in the upcoming Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Invitational Cup this December.

Despite their presence in the team, the duo will still have a tough task as former team members Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño and PBA super rookie Mikey Williams are already out of the team and will not return due to their present commitments with their teams outside the MPBL.