TNT import McKenzie Moore said his performance left plenty to be desired after playing two games in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Moore averaged 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steals for the Tropang Giga, but had yet to display a superb showing that convinced the management to bring back the player who reinforced the team in the 2019 East Asia Super League Terrific 12.
With Moore struggling, TNT was forced to play all-Filipino for the majority of the crucial stages which ended in a victory, 81-77, over Alaska Friday, Dec. 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Honestly, I’m struggling a little bit,” Moore said. “Gotta be better and that’s pretty plain and simple.”
Coach Chot Reyes also made note of Moore’s inconsistencies, but added that the former member of Mighty Sports Philippines’ victories in the William Jones Cup and Dubai Invitational is playing through pain.
“To be very honest, it's not what you expect from a regular import. The numbers prove that,” said Reyes.
“But to be fair to him, he's playing on a jumper's knee. So he's not a hundred percent. He's just really trying and forcing, and severely hobbled his ability to move, to jump. He has no lift in his shots. Like I said, we're just trying our best to get by.”
The Tropang Giga bounced back from a 102-100 loss to the NLEX Road Warriors two days earlier, and Moore is hoping that the win would be a great sign for the Philippine Cup champions moving forward.
“I even think that in our last game we played great against a great team but we came up short,” Moore said. “We learned and we grew a little bit and every game, win or lose, we can take something from it and grow from it.
“So today, we won. We needed it to get us going and we still need to learn, we still need to grow from that.”