KJ McDaniels had fun going up against former team TNT Tropang Giga for the very first time in the 2021 PBA Governors Cup.
At the same time, he didn’t deny beating them came as an added motivation.
“When you go up against your former team, there’s definitely motivation,” said the NLEX import. “You keep playing hard and once you get a win like that over a tough team, it gives you confidence.”
McDaniels raised both arms in triumph shortly after Roger Pogoy missed the potential game-winning three for TNT as the Road Warriors survived a huge endgame rally by the reigning Philippine Cup champions to escape with a 102-100 win Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
McDaniels reinforced TNT during the Governors Cup two years ago, but the Tropang Giga lost to Allen Durham and Meralco in the sudden-death Game 5 of their semifinal showdown.
Back with a vengeance
The former NBA veteran again topscored for his team with 33 points and eight rebounds in steering NLEX to a perfect 3-0 record.
But McDaniels stressed there’s still a lot of work to be done despite the Road Warriors equaling a similar hot start in the 2019 edition of the import-laden conference.
In particular, he mentioned about the team taking care of the ball well especially down the stretch.
“We’re not cocky or anything about it. We still made a lot of mistakes that could have cost us the game, so the next game we have to be better,” said McDaniels.
The victory however, was definitely a morale-boost for NLEX especially against a sister franchise with a winning tradition like TNT.
“They have a great team overall and I won’t be surprised if we see them again,” said the prolific import.
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