HE may have been outscored by Reggie Williams in their personal matchup, but Rodney Carney had the last laugh on Saturday after Talk ‘N Text turned back San Miguel Beer, 103-97, in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Former teammates at Golden State in the NBA, Carney and Williams suddenly found themselves playing at the opposite end in Asia’s first ever professional league.
The San Miguel import got the better of the matchup against his Talk `N Text counterpart, who is still trying to fit his way with the Tropang Texters after playing only in his second game.
Williams tallied 33 points, 10 assists, and seven boards, compared to Carney’s 28 points and seven boards, but the Talk `N Text import ended up with the victory.
“I know he can shoot and he can get to the hole. He’s a natural scorer. But I think I bothered him with my length a little bit,” the 6-foot-5 Carney said of his former teammate, who is a tad shorter at 6-foot-4.
“But we’re good friends. It was definitely fun playing against him.”
Still, it was a marked improvement by Carney from his first game, where he wound up with just 13 points and two rebounds in 25 minutes with no sleep after arriving in Manila a few hours before the team’s 83-81 win over Rain or Shine in Binan, Laguna.
“As long as I get a little bit more rest and more shots up, and more drills to get my rhythm back, I think I’ll be fine,” said Carney, who shot 11-of-23 from the field in 37 minutes against the Beermen.
The former NBA campaigner, though, was scoreless in the fourth quarter, where the locals fortunately took over for Talk `N Text.
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