Mikey Williams was ballin' for the Tropang Giga.
The TNT Tropang Giga on Wednesday smothered the Meralco Bolts with some inspired defense on their way to a lopsided 99-80 victory in Game 3 of the PBA Governors' Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
As for the offense, the Tropang Giga got plenty of it from import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who dropped a game-high 40 points, and super scorer Mikey Williams, who finished with 29 markers.
Williams’ fiery brilliance typified his game-long aggression—something the Fil-Am guard resolved to do even prior to Game 3.
“I definitely wanted to be more assertive in the third and the fourth,” Williams said in the post-game presser. “I know last game I was assertive in the third and went gun shy in the fourth, and it think that’s an aspect I can help my teammates [with].”
Williams was assertive, indeed, particularly in the third period, when he scored 10 points in a backbreaking 12-4 run that stretched a 57-40 lead to a nearly insurmountable 69-44 cushion. It was video game-mode Mikey all over again for TNT in that run, with Williams getting a lay-in, dropping in a floater, and then making two tough triples.
“I can definitely spark them (teammates) a little bit. Once they see that little pick-me-up, they start jumping on that bandwagon, start to get going too,” Williams added. “We just stayed locked in for 48 [minutes]. We almost had a couple mental lapses in the fourth but found a way to push through.”
The Tropang Giga certainly powered through the full 48 in Game 3, and they apparently just followed Williams’ lead. They will shoot for a finals berth opposite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 4 on Friday.