Jordan Adams was hired for his skill from long range and he flexed as much on Sunday night in the best scoring performance of the early PBA season.
The American winger fired an excellent 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and finished with 50 points, powering San Miguel past an all-Filipino Blackwater to capture its second win in as many outings in the Season 49 Governors’ Cup.
“We really looked at Jordan as a guy that can spread out the floor and to help June Mar when he’s doubled,” said head coach Jorge Gallent during the postgame presser of their 128-108 victory at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Beermen team manager Gee Abanilla said that the decision to sign Adams to take the place of original choice Tauras Jogela came from the coaches because of the controversial four-point shot.
The Atlanta native did fit the bill of a legit marksman from deep, having proven as much in the recent 2024 Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) season where he suited up as a reinforcement for Dewa United BC.
He won the IBL All-Star 3-Point Contest and also played a key role in their semis finish. He ended the season with norms of 22.9 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Adams, though, wasn’t able to showcase his shooting the way he wanted during his PBA debut versus Phoenix last Wednesday. He missed all four of his attempts from three but still finished with 24 points.
But that may have helped him get accustomed to the PBA style of play and Gallent couldn’t feel more proud to see him explode.
“In his first game, I guess he just didn’t get used to the court. But after that, you can see the results. He was 6 out of 10 today,” he said.
Adams became the second player to submit a monster outing after June Mar Fajardo, who had 37 points and 24 rebounds against the Fuel Masters.
“I think every night could be somebody else’s night,” said the former NBA cager, who also had 11 rebounds in their rout of the Bossing. “We had a good week of practice and it just showed out there in the second half.”
As impressive as he was, Adams refused to take all the limelight, saying that his showing was all thanks to how loaded SMB is.
“We have a great team. There’s a lot of guys to worry about so I was able to find my shots within my shots,” he offered. “It makes the job easier for me. Everybody can score. Everybody can shoot in this team.”
