THREE years and one day ago, Mikey Williams won his second title with TNT after a memorable 38-point night in Game 6 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra.
It also turned out to be the last game where Williams would ever wear a TNT uniform.
What followed was a messy contract dispute which led to an impasse and Williams’ eventual exile to the US – the saga ending just midway through last year when the two-time Finals MVP was shipped to Converge for Jordan Heading.
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Now a day after the third anniversary of their championship, and Williams’ final game for the team, the high-scoring Fil-American guard and his old team have finally crossed paths once more.
“That was always heartfelt,” Williams described when asked about playing against his former teammates.
“I went to battle with those guys across the other side of the floor. It’s always good seeing everybody. No love lost. I still got mad love for everybody. It’s a new home for me now that’s all that important.”
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The 34-year-old actually started off slow for Converge but ultimately got the last laugh as he hit three treys in the second half to help the FiberXers take an all important 97-92 win over the Tropang 5G on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
He finished with 13 points on 3-7 shooting from threes while also dishing out three assists in 32 minutes off the bench.
Williams said seeing those shots go down after a rough start was a good pick-me-up, and it helped that his teammates were always reminding him to stay confident amid his struggles.
“It felt good. It helped me get going more,” Williams said.
“I need to play a little [more] loose. I’ve been uptight, I haven’t been really myself but I’m just glad that the guys kept picking me up. Giving me more positive affirmations and telling me to keep going.”
While seeing his former teammates felt good for Williams, the most important thing for him today was getting the win, a crucial victory which put them at 3-6, still at No. 10 but only a full game behind the 4-5 San Miguel at eighth - and half a game behind the 3-5 Terrafirma sitting at 9th.
And Williams is confident that if they can keep their intensity from the TNT game moving forward, they have a good shot.
“We got to approach these games the same way that we did today. We just have to keep fighting together and just find a way,” he said.
“We know it’s do or die these last couple of games, just take these games one game at a time and make preparations the right way. Adjustments, everything that we need to focus on, just take the game from there.”
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