Mikey Williams authored a sequence that evoked memories of his first years in the PBA by coming through in the clutch that ultimately enabled Converge to take Game 2 of its Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series versus Rain or Shine.
In indeed a Friday night special for the FiberXers; the veteran gunner hit the dagger triple for the 127-123 lead with 35.2 seconds left, denting the Elasto Painters’ hopes of pulling off another comeback from a double-digit deficit.
That play, for some fans and observers, was reminiscent of his days with TNT, most especially during their two championship runs together.
But more than the nostalgia, that shot actually brought him a feeling of great relief.
“I think it was good for me. It got the monkey off my back,” said Williams moments after their series-tying 130-125 victory at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“Been in a little slump; I haven’t really contributed the way I know I’m capable of. But in the playoffs, anything can happen,” the 35-year-old former G League guard added.
It has been an up-and-down season overall for Williams, and that was evident in Converge’s 124-120 collapse in Game 1 last Tuesday.
In that game, he shot a poor 1-of-12 from the floor and finished with just three points, going 0-for-5 from inside the two-point area and 0-for-2 from beyond the arc.
The former No. 4 overall pick admitted that he was confused about his role on this talent-laden Converge team until he sat down with the coaching staff, led by head coach Delta Pineda and consultant Djordje Jovicic.
(C) PBA Images
“Me and Coach and Franco [Atienza] and Djorde, we just had a sit-down because I’ve been trying to understand my role and just what they want me to do here,” said Williams, who formally returned to the league last March.
“There were spurts in this season where I felt I was contributing, and then we had a switch of cultures where we had Djorde taking on a better role, and he kinda structured things.”
There, he found out that the brain trust would want him to take a backseat to Juan Gomez de Liano and Alec Stockton, which he willingly accepted as he has been witnessing how capable the up-and-coming young stars are.
“You know, one of us had to take a backseat, and I didn’t mind ’cause I had two great guys in front of me, Alec and Juan,” Williams said.
“Tremendous young talent and they’re getting it done right now; can’t complain. I just gotta contribute and do what I can as best as I can.”
Williams did contribute in Game 2 with 10 points plus two rebounds and three assists off the bench, but what would surely be remembered was his cold-blooded triple late in the game, which he nailed in front of Caelan Tiongson.
That, without a doubt, was big thanks to finally learning what the FiberXers want from him, and he’ll simply continue fulfilling whatever his role would be.
“Just gotta continue to keep the right mindset and just keep working and staying in the lab and just fixing all the things that we did today,” said Williams, himself a former PBA Press Corps Finals MVP.
“And I think we’ll be fine.”
