BACKING UP HIS CREDENTIALS
Coming to the PBA with a stint in the NBA carries with it a lot of expectations.
So when Alaska’s William Henry Walker trooped to the floor of the Big Dome Sunday, he backed up the credentials he had in his resume.
The former Boston Celtic and New York Knick almost had a triple-double in his first game for the Aces, as he wounded up with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists in Alaska’s 94-87 win over San Miguel Beer.
“That’s just hats off to my teammates making plays. I found them and they made shots, and they’re out there playing fearless,” said Walker, a Kansas State alumnus.
The 26-year-old forward said that he’s already cherishing his time here in the country given its deep affection for the sport of basketball.
“It’s definitely exciting. It’s a great crowd, and the game is very physical. The other team competed hard,” he said. “I like playing physical and that’s right under my alley, so I don’t have a problem with it.”
Days before the start of the season, Walker was part of that select few who got fined for figuring an altercation in a tuneup game against Meralco. But the 6-foot-5 forward says he’s already over with that incident.
“That was a learning experience. I won’t let anybody cheap shot me. I’m a man at the end of the day and I understand that there’s gonna be some tactics to get me out of my game. It’s a situation and it helped me today,” he said.
Walker, who last played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA D-League, remained thankful for the opportunity of hooking up with Alaksa, and looks forward to improving in this sprint of a conference.
“We can always get better. When you don’t have any room for improvement, that’s when things go bad,” he said.
“I think in this life, you’ve got to count on your blessings to be able to play this game at any level, especially on the professional one. My teammates are great, the fans are great, the opponents go at you and I have nothing but respect. I like being here and the first experience was tremendous.” (RL)
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