New San Miguel Beermen import Kevin Murphy turned heads on Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, showing his veteran smarts on his way to a near triple-double outing of 37 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. But it was too unfortunate that the former NBA pro’s efforts went down the drain.
The Beermen failed to protect a four-point lead inside the final minute, and that led to their 108-109 loss to the Magnolia Hotshots.
“I had an okay game but … I’m all about the victory,” said the 28-year-old cager out of Atlanta, Georgia. “I’m all about winning so if we don’t win, that really don’t matter.
“I should have thirty-nine I think so we would have won.”
It was totally a harsh reception for the six-year pro out of Tennessee Tech. But it’s not all pitch black for him.
After his solid performance, it looks like Murphy has earned a job security with the Beermen, as none other than San Miguel head coach Leo Austria sung high praises for him by saying that they’ll be sticking with him this conference.
“Yes, ang ganda ng pinakita niya e. Even noong umpisa pa lang, alam namin na siya na ang magiging import namin dahil it’s unfair for AZ [Reid] na we will force him to play and ma-injury siya na naman,” said the decorated bench strategist.
“It takes time to fully heal and with the kind of game na pinakita ni Kevin, I think it’s obvious na siya na yung magpapatuloy. And talagang si Kevin yung import na hinahanap namin,” Austria furthered.
The Beermen have gone 2-3 in the team standings after Sunday’s defeat. And for Murphy, he’s now keen on helping the storied franchise turn things around in their next six games, as they look to make it into the next round.
“We got six more games left, so we’ll get it together in time.”
