FINALLY given the playing minutes denied of him in the past, Dave Murrell is now showing exactly what he can do.
Dave Murrell on career night
The Fil-Am came in handy for Converge on Wednesday as he came through with a career-high 15 points in an 87-84 win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Murrell was 6-of-8 from the floor and accounted for half of his output in the second quarter, helping the FiberXers notched their second win in five outings.
He also added three rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes of play, something which comes in rarity during his rookie season with NLEX.
Despite not getting exposure, Murrell has nothing but good words for the entire NLEX organization, which picked him in the second round of the 2020 draft.
“It was my rookie year. I knew I wasn’t walking into anything. I was a second round draft pick. So I knew that I would have to always fight for a spot,” he said. “Coach Yeng gave me the opportunity last conference and I really appreciate that thing.”
Murrell was initially lined up for the Cavitex Braves in the PBA 3x3, but was later elevated in the Road Warriors’ 5-on-5 roster when he failed to suit up in the standalone tournament.
But it was a short-lived stint with the Road Warriors, who later on packaged Murrell as part of the Tyrus Hill trade in exchange for a first round pick next year.
The wingman out of University of the Philippines remains grateful to NLEX for developing him into the player that he is today at Converge.
“Obviously when I was with NLEX, they have a really great program coming from an MVP Group. It helped me a lot. It build me to be the player that I am today,” said Murrell.
“Now that I am on a different team, it feels great to actually put the time and effort that I have been doing with true focus with my trainer (Migs Aytona). So it really feels good that I can actually show it on the court to everyone,” he added. “I feel like everything is working out better since I got traded.”
Converge coach Jeff Cariaso admitted the team has been interested at Murrell from the very beginning, saying the FiberXers are looking at him from a far.
“We know about his energy, we know about his athleticism, his work ethic is through the roof, he works out too much, so we have to tell him to stop working out and rest. So that’s the kind of guy he is,” said Cariaso.
“Today is proof of the hard work he puts in. And we really appreciate his attitude and how much he works hard on the court.”
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