Tyler Wilkerson carried much of San Miguel’s offense when the Beermen defeated the Star Hotshots 103-99 on Wednesday night to advance to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Wilkerson poured 46 points on 15-for-29 shooting and added 16 rebounds. With most of the locals getting defended well, Wilkerson had to increase his production to help the team win.
In the conference so far, the prolific-scoring import leads all players in usage rate with 36.1. But even if Wilkerson gets a lion’s share of the Beermen’s touches, the rest of the team doesn’t mind.
“Not (worried) because that’s what he does. Scoring the ball is second nature for him. I heard him tell coach leave him out there for the whole game, so when he is scoring like that, he makes it easier for everyone else,” Chris Ross said.
“Of course, you want to get June Mar more involved, but when the game is on the line, it helps you have an import like that.”
San Miguel head coach Leo Austria admitted Star’s defense against his locals was tremendous, and they were left with pretty much no choice but to go to Wilkerson.
“Kasi napakaganda rin ng defense ng Star eh, so wala kaming gagawin kundi pumunta doon sa high-percentage player which is si Wilkerson. Kasi maganda yung game plan nila para kay June Mar at sa wing men. But Wilkerson, he refused to lose,” Austria shared.
Fajardo, who only had four field goal attempts throughout entire Game Two, does not mind not getting a lot of touches either.
“Wala, basta manalo kami. Okay lang, kailangan namin magsacrifice,” the reigning Most Valuable Player said.
Wilkerson, meanwhile, thinks San Miguel should also focus on defense and not just mere out-scoring its opponent.
“We just focused. We made a big push. Defense was always a big part of that game. We played hard D. And that’s how you win a championship. To win the next series, you have to play defense. We can’t depend on just our offense. We are scoring a lot but we are giving a lot too,” Wilkerson said.
If that’s the case, then people can expect more huge outputs from the Beermen import.
Video courtesy of Sports5
