JALEN Hudson bounced back in a huge way on Wednesday following a sluggish performance in their previous game in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Jalen Hudson on 56-point explosion
Hudson produced 56 points on an efficient 21-of-31 shooting from the field on Wednesday in TNT’s 128-122 win over Converge, a huge turnaround from his performance against Magnolia last Friday.
He had 14 points against the Hotshots and just nailed four of his 17 shots from the field.
TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa said he challenged Hudson to improve his game, while also giving pointers on how to deal with the defense against him.
“I know what he is capable of doing,” said Lastimosa. “He is as quick as anybody here in the league. He is athletic and if he goes pass the main guy, I don’t care who is there. There’s no 7-footers in this league to stop him.”
“I told him you can finish better if you are not in a hurry. He didn’t change his game. He was still attacking in the first four games. Now, he has a better sense of idea of not to be in a hurry because there is no 7-footers to bother his shots,” Lastimosa added.
Hudson eclipsed the most recent scoring explosion in the conference, 55-point effort of Shabazz Muhammad with San Miguel when they played against Meralco last March 5, 2022.
Hudson, a former NBA Summer League player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, said he also didn’t change anything in his game as he only tried to play his best in an important game against Converge.
“I just tried to be aggressive. That’s pretty much it. My teammates gave me confidence and going into this game, I know it’s a big game for them as well. You have to give credit to Converge. They are obviously a good team. Top four, five teams in the league. I just tried to be aggressive, that’s it,” said Hudson.
Hudson also paid tribute to his counterpart Jamaal Franklin, who had 47 points in their shootout.
“I thought he was a heck of a player. He made some tough shots. I know why he made it to the CBA (China). For a while, I didn’t think he is going to slow down. But a good player to have in the league. I thought it was a good match-up. He played well. I’m just happy we ended up with the win,” said Hudson.
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