Once a spectator in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup Finals, Michael Craig, Jr. finally had his chance to play against San Miguel Beermen, the team that defeated TNT Katropa in six games in last conference’s title series.
A lot of eyes were on Wednesday night’s main event, with many highly anticipating if the word war between Craig, Jr. and SMB point guard Chris Ross back in Game Three of the said series will take place once more.
Both teams though left everything inside the court. Furthermore, the six-foot-five American didn’t have much joy in talking about the game, as his side lost to the Beermen anew, 91-97, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Instead, the wide-bodied yet flashy import sang praises to the opposition.
“They played a good game,” said Craig, Jr., who finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds.
“They executed their gameplan, played inside out with the big man the ball kicking it out for threes, I felt they did a good job doing that.”
And as expected, Craig, Jr. also had kind words for the all-around Ross, who scored only five but made his presence felt with eight rebounds and 10 assists.
“He did what he was supposed to do as a point guard come out and give his guys the ball, push the ball on the court, I mean he’s a good player, he’s a big reason why his team has been successful the past two conferences.
“He’s a good player. He played pretty well tonight,” explained the 26-year-old.
It may be yet another bitter pill to swallow, but Craig, Jr. and the Katropa are all set to leave it all behind. They will play their second game in three days versus a hungry Alaska Aces, and that is where they want to shift their sights.
“Gotta turnaround, put this game behind us and focus on Alaska on Friday,” said the Phoenix, Arizona-native. “They’re a pretty good team, got a good import, really shooting the ball well.
“We just got to go back to the drawing board and win the rebounding battle and try to get stops on defense.”
