It was quite a ride for Mikey Williams and the TNT Tropang Giga.
Mikey Williams and the TNT Tropang Giga had a tumultuous start to the 47th season of the PBA, to say the least.
There’s the contract issue that saw the sweet-shooter go AWOL for many weeks before finally agreeing to a 3-year deal in time for the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals, thanks in large part to team manager Jojo Lastimosa, who is now also head coach.
While he helped the Tropang Giga reach the finals against the San Miguel Beermen in that conference, Williams found himself embroiled in another controversy after he was seen in the eventual champions SMB’s party.
TNT and its fans didn’t appreciate that.
The issues didn’t stop there for the 30-year-old gunner, though.
In the Commissioner’s Cup, the former Rookie of the Year was suspended for a week without pay after skipping practices without prior notice. Lastimosa even called him out, saying he was “acting like he’s on another level” in October last year.
But as in basketball games, it’s not how teams start. It’s how they close it out that will make a world of difference.
TNT did just that.
All those issues are shelved now. The love-hate relationship between Williams and TNT culminated in a championship at the expense of no less than the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Governors’ Cup.
And at the center of it all was, guess who, Mikey Williams.
He was adjudged the Honda-PBA Press Corps Finals MVP after a masterful 38-point performance built on 9 three-pointers in Game 6 on Friday. He normed 22 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in the best-of-seven affair opposite the erstwhile defending champions.
To make it more impressive, he’s the lone player in PBA history to uncork at least eight three-pointers in a game twice in the finals, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon. He shot 31-of-69 or 45% from beyond the arc in six games.
This probably would not have happened had Lastimosa failed to smooth things out with his prized stallion.
“There was really bad animosity between the two of us, and we were able to talk about it,” the concurrent coach said after giving TNT its first title in the season-ending conference.
Meanwhile, Williams bared everything fell into place when Rondae Hollis-Jefferson came aboard to replace super-scoring import Jalen Hudson. RHJ's arrival worked wonders for the hot-shooting team, which set a record 21 three-pointers in the Game 5 win.
“With Jalen, he needed the ball a lot so I had to shy away from taking more shots and just trying to be a playmaker for my teammates. When Rondae came, we were clicking on all cylinders,” said Williams.
Williams and Lastimosa were seen hugging after dethroning Ginebra. The sight was a fitting end to a season littered with issues on and off the court.
With an improved relationship with the TNT coach and management, it looks like this is not the last time fans will see Williams will hoist a championship trophy.