MANILA, Philippines – A strange turn of events led former University of the Philippines (UP) guard Mikee Reyes to sign a one-day contract with the Kaohsiung Truth as the team's heritage import for the ongoing ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season.

Reyes was in Taiwan last week to serve as a color commentator of the game between the Truth and the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions, in what was a battle of debuting ABL teams. He was interviewing Kaohsiung coach Tryston Lawrence afterward and his broadcast partner revealed that he was a point guard.

As it turned out, Kaohsiung Truth is in dire need of a point guard, and Reyes found himself signing a one-day contract for the new franchise a few days later.

He debuted Sunday against Alab Pilipinas, tallying 14 points on six-of-15 shooting, to go along with two rebounds and two assists in under 29 minutes.

• READ: Alab Pilipinas lights up win column after downing Truth

"He played well," Lawrence told the ABL website of Reyes. "He's been staying in shape, but overall, I know that this was his first game, as far as going up and down, so he got a little fatigued which was expected."

"He gave us a scoring punch that we didn't have, and that was good."

Reyes was aggressive with the ball and tried to push the pace at every opportunity, but was still clearly not in game shape and not very familiar with Kaohsiung Truth's system. He committed six turnovers, and cramped up in the second half.

"I'm not in game shape," said Reyes, who failed to earn a contract with the TNT KaTropa with the PBA. "When I was practicing with Talk 'N Text, we weren't really scrimmaging that much."

"So up and down the floor, it was tough for me," he admitted. "I felt my leg cramp up as early as the second quarter, so that was tough. It sucked that my mind wanted to do something, but my legs didn't want me to."

Reyes was disappointed that he failed to lead Kaohsiung to victory, but is hopeful that he earned another chance with the team.

"This isn't a one-game thing," Reyes said. "I hope this partnership between me and Kaohsiung continues."

"But we have to trust the process. We can't focus on one game – it's a process. Whatever the result is, just being able to play, especially after all the injuries, all the hardships that I went through – just being able to play is a blessing already," he added.

Lawrence would not commit to signing Reyes to a longer contract, only saying that he will have to discuss it with team management. Nevertheless, he commended the former UP player for his effort.

"I know this game, he played well, and I'm proud of him," he said.

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.