Rookie Mikey Williams sees more room for improvement even after dropping a season-high 27 points in TNT’s one-sided victory over Meralco.
Williams had his best shooting game as a PBA cager, making 11-of-20 from the field after entering the contest with a 26.7-percent clip that contributed to the Tropang Giga’s 91-76 romp of the Bolts.
“I still have a lot of work to do,” Williams said after the game held Friday, Sept. 3 at the Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor, Pampanga.
“This is just one game. There’s plenty more games to come. My coaches and my teammates they're still helping me adjust and I thank them gratefully for that. We're just gonna keep at it and keep getting back to work and go from there.”
TNT remained unbeaten after five games to stay on top of the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations, with Magnolia on deck.
His performance against the Bolts is one clear reason why the Tropang Giga worked on a deal with the NLEX Road Warriors to acquire the fourth pick in the PBA Rookie Draft last March to pick Williams.
Williams had been tabbed to pick up the slack left by Ray Parks Jr., who signed with Japanese club Nagoya Diamond Dragons following a contract dispute with TNT management.
It also gave the well-traveled Williams the chance to form a backcourt combination with team captain Jayson Castro.
“Jayson's a tremendous general, a leader for the team. He's our quiet captain and he definitely keeps us on the line,” he said.
“It's just wonderful to learn from such a great mind. And I feel like the more we continue to play together, the more the guys can see the chemistry just growing and continue to get better game in and game out,” added Williams.