Matthew Wright was the last to leave the Phoenix Fuel Masters’ locker room on Friday evening after the team had suffered an 88-110 mauling against the San Miguel Beermen. He was still calm and collected. It was as if he had not gone scoreless for the second time in three games.
“Just wasn’t my day, that’s really it,” Wright said after missing all 13 of his shot attempts.
“It looks the same,” he added when pressed if there was a change in the attention given to him compared to last conference.
Last conference, the 26-year-old gunslinger was shooting 40.8 percent from the field, leading all rookies with an average of 17.9 points per contest. This time around though, he is just 23.68 percent from the field in three games.
He had gone scoreless in his season debut against TNT but was able to set his career-high against Ginebra. His scoreless game was not an anomaly, however, as he also shot blanks against San Miguel and was not even able to get to the stripe.
For the Filipino-Canadian, it’s about San Miguel’s denial defense that had stifled him in 30 minutes of action.
“Yes, they are a championship team. They denied me a couple of times, they know that the best way to stop somebody is just not to let them touch the ball,” he said.
But even when he got his looks, it just did not drop.
“[But] a lot of shots I missed was very uncharacteristic, I make those shots with my eyes closed,” he admitted.
“I don’t know what happened today.”
Wright is not letting this game get in his way, however, as he has his mind set on their next game.
“I already forgot about it. I should prepare for Rain or Shine now,” the Gilas cadet said.
“I think I should just be super aggressive every time. Some games it’s not gonna fall but I believe in the law of averages, so next game I’m due. That’s the only way I can think about it.”
And maybe that long moment he spent in the locker room has helped him move on from this forgettable outing.
