Dez Wells impressed during San Miguel’s run in the East Asia Super League’s The Terrific 12 just last week, with Phoenix Pulse head coach Louie Alas even comparing him to former super import Tony Harris.
“Parang si Tony Harris eh. Very explosive tapos ‘to, dumedepensa pa. Two-way player ‘to and kailangan dalhin mo lahat ng knowledge mo sa basketball against him. Magaling, magaling,” said Alas in an interview just last Saturday.
The Beermen and the Fuel Masters then squared off on Wednesday night. And Wells lived up to his billing.
Wells dropped 42 points on 52-percent shooting on top of eight rebounds and seven assists. He powered San Miguel to a 130-119 victory to start off their Grand Slam bid on a triumphant note in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup.
“Wala ako masasabi sa kanya. 42 points lang tonight,” quipped coach Leo Austria. “But the way he played in Macau, I know he can do it here. Sa Macau maraming malalaki, mga seven-footer. But here, with a limit of six-five he can do well.”
Wells has also heard the comparison. Still, the 27-year-old downplayed the praise, saying he cares more about helping his team.
“That’s not my focus. My focus is to help my team win, and what I have to do to help them win. That’s what I’m for. It could be me scoring, it could be me getting more rebounds, or making foul shots or whatever they need,” he said.
“But it doesn’t have to be me just scoring so they can compare me to other people. That’s not my focus.”
Despite dazzling in his first PBA game, Wells deflected the credit to the Beermen for helping him do well. He mentioned teammates such as June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Chris Ross, Alex Cabagnot, and Terrence Romeo.
“I’m just happy that my teammates and everybody else were able to play off me, coach off me in good positions,” he said.
“Chris Ross did a good job in giving me the ball. My teammates really did a good job. They tried to double me, so I find an open spot so I can get them the ball and they made shots. This is not a one-man show — those guys really stepped up,” he continued.
“Alex did a really good job, Terrence off the bench, June Mar played well… Arwind stepped up with some really timely threes. It’s a team effort, and every time I step on the court with those guys, I feel blessed to play with them.”
