Lady Luck is finally getting on the side of TNT.
None other than Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes disclosed that reigning Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player Mikey Williams is set to arrive in the country early Sunday morning.
“Sumakay na sa eroplano. Hopefully, he arrives tomorrow,” Reyes said, knocking on the table of the press room and hoping no more snags happen, after TNT’s 78-71 win over Meralco.
“So, hindi na kailangan lagi mag-score ng 30 points lagi ni Roger [Pogoy]. Magkakaroon na siya ng katulong although we know that he won’t be in game shape,” added the five-time PBA Coach of the Year as Pogoy is currently averaging 19.5 points per game — including two games that saw him tally more than 27 points.
Williams figured in a negotiating nightmare with TNT over the past few months.
Though technically still under contract with TNT for one more year, the 6-foot-2 Filipino-American guard had the power to reconfigure his current deal after leading TNT to the 2021 Philippine Cup.
However, that does not mean that he should go AWOL for the squad.
“Alam niyo, wala naman kaming problema kay Mikey. It’s the other people around him.
“Kaya yung sinasabi na we should have fixed things after the first conference. We were trying to but he had to go through other people na other people na hindi puwede sa PBA,” explained Reyes, pertaining to Williams’ agency Argus Ossa Sports.
“Between Mikey and myself, wala naman problema. Now that he is going to play, that’s a great sign of his intent to play with the team,” he continued.
Reyes though knows that Williams will be far from his form last year that saw him average 18.7 points 4.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists during last year’s All-Filipino tilt.
But what’s important for Reyes now is to have a healthy player capable of filling the void that is currently left by Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, and Kib Montalbo.
“With the injuries we are having with Ryan, Jayson, Kib Montalbo won’t be with us for the next couple of weeks, we need all the help we can get.”
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