Paul Lee drew praises from no less than head coach Chito Victolero for a job well done on Wayne Selden, Jr. that helped Magnolia take down NLEX and collect its third consecutive win in the PBA Governors’ Cup Thursday night.
The champion mentor said that the star gunner took the responsibility of defending the former NBA cager, and went on to show why he wanted to as he made it one frustrating night for the latter — to the delight of his team.
Now in his second game in the Filipino pro league, Selden was held to just 25 points on 20 attempts. Though he had four rebounds and nine assists, he committed six turnovers and was a -10 in 44 minutes of play.
His scoring performance was far from what he made in this debut versus Ginebra last February 8, where he dropped 43 albeit in a loss, 114-111.
“Actually, kinuha ‘yun ni Paul, siya mismo may sabi na kukunin niya ‘yung import,” said Victolero after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Kilala namin si Paul, ‘pag gusto niya, kaya niya yan e. Kaya niyang gawin yan. He’s a two-way player — hindi niyo lang napapansin, galing din dumipensa niyan si Paul,” added the former cager turned shot-caller.
Lee, however, downplayed the praise, saying that it was still a collective effort in limiting Selden, who’s yet to win in his first PBA foray.
“Actually, hindi naman ako ‘yun eh,” he told reporters. “‘Yung depensa namin naka-box-and-one. Nag-mukha lang sa akin pero team defense pa rin ‘yun.
“Kung ma-beat ako nun, andun yung apat sa likod ko, naka-bantay rin sa kanya. Buti nag-work. Yun nga, nalimit namin yung score niya kasi sobrang galing talaga. Nakita naman natin kung ano yung kaya niyang gawin.
“Tumitira ng kung ano-anong tira. May one-legged pa nga yatang binitawan kanina. At least, nag-work ‘yung adjustment namin nung second half. We got the win,” added the 34-year-old guard out of Tondo.
Lee added that he only has nothing but respect for Selden despite the exchange of words — and the mind games he initiated — they had in-game.
“Palitan lang ng words. End of the game, nag-shake hands naman kami. We congratulated each other na it’s just a game. I respect him as a player. He’s a great player so ayun,” said the one-time BPC.
Aside from his efforts against Selden, Lee was as impactful on offense as he finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
All that despite leaving the game for a while early following an inadvertent contact that left him dizzy.
“Nung una kasi natamaan niya ako, nabagsakan niya ‘ko ng siko kaya medyo nahilo ako nang konti,” he said.
“Pagtingin ko sa upuan, gumagalaw ‘yung upuan, so sabi ko kay Coach, labas muna ako. Tapos parang ‘uung feeling na masusuka kanina dahil sa hilo.
“Pero ‘yun nga, nung chineck ako sa loob, nung doctor dito sa PBA, tsaka ng team doctor namin. Okay naman. May mga ginawa lang test sa akin para makabalik sa loob,” added Lee.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
