Mikey Williams says second title sweeter with presence of fans
Published Apr 23, 2023 09:43 am
The bigger chunk of the crowd inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum may have rooted against him throughout the PBA Finals but Mikey Williams admitted that it was the fans who made his second PBA title and Finals MVP citation much sweeter than the first one.
*Mikey Williams celebrates with the rest of TNT after winning the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup title (Noel Pabalate)*
After winning his first title and Finals MVP award during the 2021 Philippine Cup on a bubble setup in Bacolor and without fans, Williams said he truly enjoyed playing and winning in front of a huge crowd. “Oh man, it’s heartwarming, just the love in the building, the excitement, everybody’s happy jumping around there’s no better feeling than that,” said Williams. “Bubble wasn’t as fun as this was. Just appreciate the opportunity presented itself and took advantage so (I’m) just grateful,” he added. Serenaded by the cheers from the TNT fans and boos from the legion of Ginebra faithful, Williams lived up to the moment and put on an unforgettable show in the Tropang Giga’s title-clinching 97-93 Game 6 win. Williams finished with 38 points to cap off a series-long brilliance that allowed him to win his second Finals MVP award. He even fired nine triples – the last of which he nailed from the top of the key with 1:15 left in the game to give TNT the lead for good, 95-93. That huge triple also silenced the predominant Kings crowd who were already wildly cheering their famous Ginebra chant. “This is surely a lot better than the first one but definitely blessed and honored to play with a group of guys that I just did this series with. We really did a good job executing the plan, for that, the result was the championship,” said Williams. Making the triumph even sweeter, according to Williams, was the fact that they managed to win it against a very strong and well-coached team like Ginebra. “We beat a really good Ginebra team, well-coached. They had a great game plan for us. They fought to the end so I commend those guys for giving us the challenge and thank them for making us better.”
*Mikey Williams celebrates with the rest of TNT after winning the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup title (Noel Pabalate)*
After winning his first title and Finals MVP award during the 2021 Philippine Cup on a bubble setup in Bacolor and without fans, Williams said he truly enjoyed playing and winning in front of a huge crowd. “Oh man, it’s heartwarming, just the love in the building, the excitement, everybody’s happy jumping around there’s no better feeling than that,” said Williams. “Bubble wasn’t as fun as this was. Just appreciate the opportunity presented itself and took advantage so (I’m) just grateful,” he added. Serenaded by the cheers from the TNT fans and boos from the legion of Ginebra faithful, Williams lived up to the moment and put on an unforgettable show in the Tropang Giga’s title-clinching 97-93 Game 6 win. Williams finished with 38 points to cap off a series-long brilliance that allowed him to win his second Finals MVP award. He even fired nine triples – the last of which he nailed from the top of the key with 1:15 left in the game to give TNT the lead for good, 95-93. That huge triple also silenced the predominant Kings crowd who were already wildly cheering their famous Ginebra chant. “This is surely a lot better than the first one but definitely blessed and honored to play with a group of guys that I just did this series with. We really did a good job executing the plan, for that, the result was the championship,” said Williams. Making the triumph even sweeter, according to Williams, was the fact that they managed to win it against a very strong and well-coached team like Ginebra. “We beat a really good Ginebra team, well-coached. They had a great game plan for us. They fought to the end so I commend those guys for giving us the challenge and thank them for making us better.”