Paul Lee, Chito Victolero praise TNT's Mikey Williams: 'Parang nabuhay siya para umiskor talaga'

TNT Tropang Giga rookie Mikey Williams has been more than a handful for the Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

In the first two games of the series, both TNT wins, Williams averaged 24.5 points per game while knocking down five three-pointers in each of those games.

In Game 3 on Sunday, he was even better, exploding for 39 points and knocking down 10 triples, making him the holder of the record for most made three-pointers in a single game for a rookie.

Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero admitted that stopping Williams has been a big challenge.

"'Yung bata naman talaga, kahit anong ilagay natin, he loves to score. Any scheme, talagang nagagawan ng paraan," Victolero said about Williams, whom he described as 'NBA-caliber.'

[The kid loves to score. He can work against any scheme, any defender.]

"Di mo na ma-stop 'yun, siguro ma-limit lang namin," he said. "We try our best, kita naman natin how we [try to] deny Mikey. We put a small guy, Rome [dela Rosa], Calvin [Abueva], sa huli si Rafi [Reavis] na."

[You can't stop him, maybe we can limit him. We try our best to deny him, like what you saw, we put a small guy, Rome dela Rosa, Calvin Abueva, at the end it was already Rafi Reavis.]

And though they weren't able to stop Williams, the Magnolia defense did just enough for the team to eke out a 106-98 victory in the latest contest.

"It's a team defense. Thankful ako the other guys stepped up dun sa laro on both ends of the floor."

[I am thankful the other guys stepped up on both ends of the floor.]

Paul Lee, who led Magnolia on the offensive end with 21 points on Sunday, echoed Victolero's sentiments.

"Sobrang talented ni Mikey. Credit din talaga sa kanya. Di lang ako na-challenge, na-challenge buong team sa kanya," he said.

[Mikey's very talented, credit also goes to him. Not only I, but the whole team was challenged.]

"Parang nabuhay siya para umiskor talaga. Ganun kagaling si Mikey."

[It's like he was born to score. Mikey's that good.]

—JMB, GMA News