The last time Mychal Ammons played in the PBA, he returned home with a heavy heart.
The American cager suffered a painful end to his stint with TNT, as he and the KaTropa fell to the Meralco Bolts in four games of their best-of-five semifinal series in the 2016 Governors’ Cup.
Three years later, Ammons has made his way back to the PBA. And his return is off to a good start.
Friday night, Ammons and the NorthPort Batang Pier held off Joel Wright and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 99-94, for a successful start to their 2019 Governors’ Cup campaign.
Ammons said that he feels he’s more prepared now in his second stint. It showed in his performance, as he finished with 25 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal.
“I feel like I’m more prepared now,” said the 27-year-old forward.
“The Filipinos, they play a tough brand of basketball. You gotta come ready, you gotta come ready to fight every night.”
Ammons is happy to have the win but he’s still not satisfied, especially with his team’s near-collapse in the end.
The Batang Pier had already built a 24-point lead in the third quarter, but the Elasto Painters came back roaring. They then knocked within just three with less than five seconds remaining.
Luckily for them, rookie Robert Bolick calmly made both of his shots from the charity stripe with three seconds left to play to push their lead to five and eventually settle the final count.
“We’re happy with the win. I wouldn’t say satisfied. We could’ve played better in the second half,” said Ammons.
Still, the season-ending conference is in its early goings, and for Ammons, they just have to keep on working.
“We [have to] keep getting better every game, every practice. We’re taking it one game at a time, and I think we’ll be fine.”
