There were modest expectations for Mike Ayonayon after he was drafted third overall in the 2019 PBA Draft by NLEX Road Warriors.
That draft class wasn't considered deep, and the Road Warriors had a loaded guard rotation.
But the guard out of Philippine Christian University cracked Yeng Guiao's rotation in the 2020 coronavirus bubble, appearing in all 11 contests while averaging 5.4 points per game.
Despite a disappointing 2021 and 2022, Ayonayon has somehow managed to stick around in the league, even as the two players selected ahead of him -- Roosevelt Adams and Maurice Shaw -- are no longer playing in the PBA.
But make no mistake, Ayonayon can step up when called upon, as he showed Sunday night in Blackwater Bossing's thrilling 92-90 win over Phoenix Super LPG in the PBA On Tour.
In the 2022-23 Governors' Cup, Ayonayon appeared in only seven games and averaged just 5.6 points per outing as he battled through injuries.
Not much had changed through the Bossing's first six games in the Tour, as Ayonayon put up 5.3 PPG in a wildly inconsistent campaign. After scoring 16 in Blackwater's first game of the tour, he was held scoreless in their last two games prior to Sunday night.
But he kept himself ready, and it paid off against the Fuel Masters as he had his best all-around game of the preseason.
Aside from pouring in 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including eight in the fourth period, Ayonayon shut down the Fuel Masters hot-shooting guard Tyler Tio, limiting him to just four points in the second half.
"Sinasabi lang naman sa amin na always stay ready," Ayonayon told ESPN. "Kapag bigyan ng opportunity, dapat all out, 100%, offense and defense."
Blackwater's acting head coach Joe Silva, who's still calling the shots for Jeff Cariaso, praised Ayonayon's professionalism.
"Mike Ayonayon is always ready and he's selfless enough that he understands sometimes he won't play," said Silva. "But sometimes when he's called upon, he's going to deliver for sure.
"That's what we want. Our mentality is 'next man up'. Whoever we put in will contribute. Whoever we put in can shine. So that's the mentality that we're trying to develop as well."
Ayonayon said his success on the defensive end in the second half against Tio was a confidence booster.
"Parang na-challenge din ako kasi siyempre, si Tyler, siya ang 'go-to guy' ng Phoenix," he stated. "Nakaka-stop ako so parang nakumpiyansa na rin ako sa opensa ko."
Ayonayon is optimistic that his performance against Phoenix will earn him more minutes, as he added: "Hopefully, mag-tuloy-tuloy. Ganoon lang. Always stay ready lang. Tapos all-out lang."
Silva acknowledged that balancing everyone's playing time is a challenge, but that Ayonayon's output will not go unnoticed.
"It's really hard to balance minutes for 15, 16 players. But we'll reward him for his performance today (Sunday)," declared Blackwater's acting man-in-charge.
In the meantime, the Bossing need to address bigger issues, as for the second straight game they blew a big lead.
"We have to work on our consistency," Silva admitted. "We built a lead, but lost it quickly.
"We kept on telling the boys that this is the time to develop a winning attitude. This is the time to develop killer instinct.
"When we get a big lead, it shouldn't go down. I guess we still have to work on that. Good thing we came up with a win.
"It's a cause of concern. That's what coach Jeff wants to instill -- protecting leads, executing and playing defense when the game is on the line."
Ayonayon agreed, saying: "Sa practice naman maganda ang chemistry namin. Tapos ngayong Wednesday padating na si coach Jeff so baka maging mas okay na ang patakbo namin.
"Kapag lamang kami, nagkukumpiyansa kami. Kailangan composed pa rin kahit lamang kami ng double digits."