Mikey Williams proved that he is no mere rookie.
After five spectacular games in the 2021 Honda PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the 6-foot-2 scoring guard was adjudged the Finals Most Valuable Player.
The runner-up in the Best Player of the Conference race averaged 27.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in TNT’s five-game triumph over Magnolia.
“I feel like this is a surreal moment for all of us,” he expressed. “We definitely put the work in, we definitely put in the time. It’s been a long season and it’s been challenging for everybody.”
Williams is the first TNT player to win the coveted plum since Ranidel De Ocampo did it during the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
The 30-year-old Filipino-American becomes the first rookie to win the award as well since Brandon Cablay did it back in the 2003 PBA Invitational Championship for Alaska. The other player who won Finals MVP in his freshman year was Danny Seigle back in the 1999 Commissioner’s Cup.
But Williams is the only one who achieved the feat in his very first conference.
Definitely, Williams is a rookie for the ages.
