If you can’t beat them, join them.
That maxim has somehow become a trend in professional sports in recent years. And that’s what many thought of following the announcement that Mike Harris will return to the PBA with Magnolia for the 2021-22 Governors’ Cup.
In retrospect, the American forward tried to help end Alaska’s years-long title drought back in the 2018 edition of the season-ending conference, only to settle for a runner-up finish behind Romeo Travis and the Hotshots.
“I told them when I got here, ‘Man, looks like I’m pulling a Kevin Durant’ — you know, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” quipped the former NBA cager, who won Best Import honors during his maiden PBA stint, with a chuckle.
However, it wasn’t really the case.
Harris clarified that it just so happened that Magnolia has been trying to acquire his services for a while. And both camps, he added, are driven by redemption, thus his decision to sign with one of the league’s storied ball clubs.
While the 16-year veteran is chasing a PBA crown, the Hotshots, on the other hand, are hungry to bounce back following a disappointing 4-1 loss to the TNT Tropang Giga in the 2021 Philippine Cup Finals last October.
“It’s not necessarily the case but Coach, they said they wanted me, they’ve been looking for me for a long time. They got a lot of fight in them right now with losing in the Finals in the last conference,” he said.
“And me, last time I was here, I came up short,” added Harris, who was expected to return in 2019 but wasn’t called back by the Aces.
“So, we’re all in the same goal. It’s just that I joined the team that beat me this time.”
Magnolia made its conference debut on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, and there it showed how motivated it is. The crew put on a rousing performance and handed Terrafirma a harsh 114-87 beating.
“It’s always better to win the first game than to lose it,” Harris said. “This is our first one. We’ve been going at each other for so long right now so it really felt good to get out here and, you know, kinda get our feet up under us.”
Harris led the Hotshots’ balanced attack with 30 points on 56-percent shooting from the field and 15 rebounds, indeed a solid performance for the oldest import in the field at 38. That, however, isn’t something he’s thinking of.
“The last three places I’ve been, I’ve been the oldest. And I was able to get a way out of there with a championship and do some good things,” he said. “But it’s the first game of the season, I don’t even think about it.”
And as impressive as their performance as a whole was, Harris said that there remain lots to work on for him and his new team.
“I think the first half, you could tell we’re rusty. We haven’t had a game in a long time. A lot of shots that guys usually make, a lot of missed lay-ups missed. But our defense did good, in the first half they only scored 35 points,” he said.
“We did really good. That’s what this team is on. That’s what I liked about them the last time I was here, their staple is their defense. Guys really locked in,” he offered.
“Second half, we got off to a little bit of a better start offensively, but we let go of a few things defensively so we still got a lot of work to do.”
