MATTHEW Wright got inspiration from the late Kobe Bryant as he delivered on his promise to give Topex Robinson his first win as a PBA coach on Monday in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup.
Wright scored 36 points in his first game in the bubble, leading the Fuel Masters to a 116-98 win over Meralco at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
Wright later bared in a postgame television interview that he was determined to play well for Bryant, his childhood hero who passed away last January.
“Honestly, this is the first game that I’ve played professionally since Kobe Bryant passed away. I know it’s been a long time. It’s been over eight months. But not a day goes by without thinking about him. That’s my hero,” Wright told TV5’s Selina Dagdag-Alas after the match.
Wright said he will be wearing Kobe Bryant’s shoes the rest of the bubble to honor his favorite player.
“I just knew that when it was time to come to the court, I was going to dedicate that performance to Kobe. I’m going to wear his shoes for the entire conference and I just tried to channel my inner Mamba today,” said Wright.
Aside from Bryant in his mind, Wright also bared that he didn’t want to let Robinson down as he coaches his first game in the PBA as the interim coach for Phoenix.
He delivered in the game. Aside from hitting 11 of 23 field goal attempts including four triples, he also dished out to his teammates and finished with six assists in the match.
“Just being excited coming back to play in the bubble. It’s very exciting. It’s a great atmosphere if you truly love basketball. You can focus on only that and I just want to give coach Topex his first win as a head coach. I told him before the game that I wasn’t going to let him down,” said Wright.
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