Wilkerson steps up in absence of key players for SMB
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The Holy Week break was a welcome reprieve for an ailing San Miguel Beer side.
But it was Tyler Wilkerson whom the Beermen needed more as they faced the streaking Star Hotshots missing three key players in June Mar Fajardo, Ronald Tubid and Arwind Santos.
“The break was much needed. We started late than everybody else so our games are kind of close together and it was a good break for us. We needed that, and we got a couple of guys hurting so we’ll get them back healthy next week,” said Wilkerson.
Fajardo and Tubid are still recuperating from a knee injury while Santos is still grieving from the passing of his mother.
Wilkerson missed San Miguel’s practice on Thursday due to a bad stomach, but he showed no signs of it in torching the Hotshots on Sunday.
The versatile import scored 44 points built on 8-of-13 shooting from three-point range and had 17 rebounds to lead the Beermen’s 117-98 rout.
“I’m completely healthy,” said Wilkerson, whose performance squashed any concerns with his health status.
Wilkerson shared his success to his teammates.
“We play as a team and we got plenty of guys that can score and make shots,” said Wilkerson. “When we’re looking for each other and not being selfish, everything seems to work. We found the hot hand in the third quarter, we found Marcio (Lassiter) and he couldn’t miss. All around the game, we just found the hot hand and get to him and we all played together.”
Wilkerson also enjoyed having to go into a friendly battle against someone close to him in Hotshots import Ricardo Ratliffe
“He’s a good friend of mine. He had 33 points and 21 rebounds and he’s a great player. He’s strong but we’re tough,” he said.
“We have so many weapons and you can’t just stop one person and hope to win the game.”
“It’s fun. I’m sure you can see it. It looked fun to you all, and it’s fun to us.”
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