Mikey Williams regained his groove Friday night as he helped TNT seize control of its Honda PBA Philippine Cup semis battle versus San Miguel once again.
After scoring just a total of 19 points in the series’ first two games, the Fil-Am guard fired 20 points as the Tropang Giga ran roughshod over their rivals with a 118-95 victory to bounce back from Wednesday’s 21-point collapse.
The 29-year-old shot four three-pointers, a welcome development no doubt as he went just 2-of-14 from deep in both their previous games.
The Tropa, as a whole, shot 13 triples, the most they’ve had this semis — they shot 8-of-36 back in Game One and went 10-of-36 the next game.
“You saw the result, right?
“If we’re making our outside shots, then I think we give ourselves a much better chance. If we’re missing our outside shots, then that’s what you’ll see, the first two games,” offered head coach Chot Reyes.
For the champion mentor, making the outside shot is key for TNT especially against a Beermen crew he calls a “very tough defensive team.”
“San Miguel is a very tough defensive team man for man.
“They have elite defenders in Chris Ross and Marcio [Lassiter], not to mention their bigs. They’re very good defenders. We really have to find ways to make our outside shots,” he opined.
Photo by PBA Images
SMB’s defense is so tough to deal with that, according to Reyes, it is actually the reason why Williams and his crew were misfiring.
Thus, the relief the 58-year-old felt as he saw his players finally regain their touch once again, just days after that devastating defeat.
“It’s not a matter of us making it; their defense is making us miss those shots,” he said. “But I think tonight, we were able to make a little more of our outside shots than in the past two games.
“That’s the difference.”
