IT was Mike Phillips' version of a 'Giannis Game.'
With the championship hanging in the balance, the senior forward picked the right time to have his career-best in scoring, unfurling 25 points in La Salle's 80-72 Game Three conquest over the University of the Philippines on Wednesday.
READ: La Salle a champion anew after besting UP in title trilogy
With State U opting to stick with the zone, Phillips dropped hook shot after hook shot, as he went on an efficient 12-of-17 from the field on top of his routinary 18 rebounds, basically dragging the Green Archers across the finish line first.
Such explosion came out of nowhere, but for the UAAP Season 88 Finals MVP, it all boiled down to preparation.
After all, he's had that hook in the bag for quite a while now.
"I believe it was one of my games in Season 85 or 86 and [skills] coach Joe [Gabriel] told me, 'Mike, you need to develop this shot, but I don't know when you're going to use it.' And it's that specific hook shot," he said.
Though that hook shot has always been in his arsenal, Phillips knew better not to rely on it too much lest he becomes too predictable for the opposition.
"I remember before in my battles with Malick Diouf, even if I get deep in the paint he can still block that shot and he was a really hard defender. And now you have someone like [Francis] Nnoruka, who's a crazy athlete defending me," he said.
Phillips goes out with a bang
Phillips took Gabriel's words to heart knowing that as much as he has the motor to outwork and outmuscle his defenders, there's still a need for him to be crafty when it comes to his shot selection.
"Coach Joe said, you can't always just charge it. So I give all the credit to coach Joe, our best skills trainer cause he's been working with me with everything and he helped develop that shot. I guess it finally came out now."
And with that, Phillips bids Taft goodbye as a two-time champion.
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