ROOKIE MIKEY WILLIAMS powered TNT Tropang Giga to a lopsided 88-70 victory over Magnolia at the start of the best-of-seven championship series of Season 46 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Williams, the fourth overall pick in this year’s rookie draft exploded for 14 of his 21 points in the second canto to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals, as the Tropang Giga claimed Game 1 of the finals series. Center JP Erram tallied 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in addition to his seven rebounds and three blocks while veteran Kelly Williams added 10 points and six rebounds before leaving the court in the third period because of “extreme back spasm.”
TNT controlled the entire game after registering its biggest lead, 73-41, in the third quarter and it never looked back the rest of the way. Paul Lee and Jackson Corpuz led the Hotshots with 12 points each, while Calvin Abueva made a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
But Magnolia’s usual scorers Ian Sangalang and Mark Barroca were limited to five and four points, respectively. Game 2 is set on Friday at 6 p.m.