SMB’s Wilkerson downplays 50-point night: ‘I just came to play’
The addition of Tyler Wilkerson just made San Miguel an even more formidable team.
That was in full display when the Marshall University stud went for 52 points, powered a 7-of-11 shooting from threes, and the Beermen brought down GlobalPort, 120-109, on Friday for the team’s first win in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
But for Wilkerson, the eye-popping score he got is nothing special.
“This is normal,” he said, recounting his 72-point game with Guizhou Senhang in the Chinese Basketball Association three years back.
But Wilkerson said that he felt more comfortable today compared to San Miguel’s lackluster first outing against Mahindra.
“I just played basketball. Depending on what the defense is giving me, that’s how I’m gonna play. Today on the three point I was open so I was taking it,” he said. “I made some shots today. Last game, I was 1-for-5 on three last game. This game I was 7-for-11, so shots are falling, and my teammates were looking for me.”
Wilkerson became only the second member of the Beermen, following Lamont Strothers back in 2001, to at least net 52 points and grab 11 rebounds in a game.
But the 6-foot-8 forward made it clear that he didn’t force the issue and target 50.
“I feel like I scored what I needed to score for us to win. I felt like I scored what needed to be scored. I didn’t come in say let’s go and score 50. I just came to play and that’s what happened,” he said.
More than anything, Wilkerson reiterated that his goal with the Beermen is not for the individual accolades but the grandest prize for all.
“We wanna win a championship, it’s that simple.”
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