Mikey Williams was nothing short of sensational as he powered TNT’s 96-81 mauling of San Miguel to lay its two-game slide to rest in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Rookie MVP frontrunner dropped 22 of his 30 points in the final frame, which saw him bury six of his seven treys to turn a nip-and-tuck affair to a one-sided show all of a sudden, much to the delight of the fans inside.
He shot 43-percent from the field and also collected four assists, two rebounds, and a steal in the victory that hiked the Tropang Giga’s card to 4-3.
“Mikey did his job in the fourth quarter just like in the last game,” said head coach Chot Reyes, relieved as his side finally got back on track after losing close matches to Magnolia and Phoenix Super LPG last week.
Impressive as well was import Aaron Fuller, who turned in his best performance for TNT thus far with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 26 rebounds.
According to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III, the American hauled down the most rebounds since Meralco reinforcement Allen Durham grabbed 27 back in the 2019 edition of the season-ending conference.
“I thought he had made a great account of himself with his defense, and with his rebounding,” said Reyes of the returning import.
It was Fuller who helped out Williams in putting the Beermen away in the deciding period. As their foes tried to rally after his teammate’s three straight triples, Fuller scored six straight to make it an 83-68 lead with 4:31 to go.
Then it became a one-man show afterward. Williams could do no wrong, and the lead ballooned to 18 twice in the last 1:35 through his treys.
“By him taking care of the interior, it allowed our guys like Mikey, Jayson, and the others to be a factor offensively,” Reyes said of Fuller.
The win, though, may have come at a cost. Jayson Castro left with 6:37 left as his right shoulder got tangled with Vic Manuel in a box-out underneath. He never returned and left with just six points to his name.
TNT was still without Roger Pogoy due to his calf injury, but welcomed Poy Erram back from back spasms. The 6-foot-8 slitman played for over 13 minutes and registered four markers, a rebound, and an assist.
“We thought he (Poy) wouldn’t play anymore these last two games. But he felt a lot better yesterday, good enough to practice, so he tried it in practice lightly, and he gave us some really good minutes today,” Reyes lauded.
The Tropa will now look to cap off their killer schedule with another win against Ginebra on Friday at 6:00 p.m. It will be their last match before fully focusing on Gilas Pilipinas’ buildup for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers next week.
June Mar Fajardo, meanwhile, led San Miguel with 22 points and 14 rebounds in the defeat that snapped their three-game winning streak.
The loss also spoiled the debut of returning import Orlando Johnson. Formerly of Ginebra, the ex-NBA cager struggled in his PBA return with 12 points on 3-of-22 shooting, alongside five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Terrence Romeo supplied 18 points, while Vic Manuel chimed in 15 markers for SMB, who also welcomed back Chris Ross into the fold.
The Beermen will have a chance to bounce back right away against the Gin Kings also on Sunday at 6:45 p.m. in another clash of powerhouse squads.
The Scores:
TNT 96 – M. Williams 30, Fuller 22, Rosario 9, Montalbo 8, K. Williams 8, Castro 6, Erram 4, Banal 4, Reyes 3, Khobuntin 2, Heruela 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
San Miguel 81 – Fajardo 22, Romeo 18, Manuel 15, Johnson 12, Perez 6, Tautuaa 5, Lassiter 3, Ross 0, Enciso 0, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 22-24, 40-40, 65-59, 96-81.
—
All PBA games stream live on GigaPlay. Download it now on Android or IOS.
The second game of each playdate is also livestreamed on SMART Sports.
