Lesson learned for rookie Grey after crucial miss
Almost the hero, Jonathan Grey rued the crucial misses in the end game en route to Meralco’s 81-79 loss to Alaska on Wednesday.
The rookie connected on a huge drive with 15.1 seconds left to put the Bolts up, 79-78, and drew the foul.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the most of the opportunity, missing the freebie and giving the Aces one last hope, something which Alaska pounced on as Chris Banchero nailed the go-ahead three with 4.6 ticks remaining.
“If I had made the free throw, the outcome would’ve been different. But it wasn’t just my fault. I don’t want to blame it on myself. I may lose confidence if I did,” Grey said in Filipino.
Meralco collectively struggled to cash in on its freebies, going on a paltry 5-of-16 shooting clip from the charity stripe, a big drop from its 74.7-percent shooting average for the season.
Grey also said that he wouldn’t have shied away from taking the last shot, positioning himself at the right corner in that final sequence.
“Why not? If it was given to me, I would’ve grabbed the chance,” he said, as Chris Newsome decided to take it strong to the rack before being met by Alaska’s defenders down low. “But it’s OK. I respect the decision. Also, I’m just a rookie so I have to be always ready.”
Grey ended with eight points, five rebounds, and three assists in 20 minutes of action.
Tasked with such a big shot this early in his career, Grey would rather look at the opportunity as a learning lesson as he hopes to further build his confidence in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup.
“I don’t want to think about it. I just have to learn from those instances,” he said.
“I just think that I’m here to play basketball. This is what I love so I just enjoy it. It’s hard to play if you don’t have a consistent playing time, that you don’t know when coach will call you. The players know that it’s hard to build confidence, but I’m always ready. The coaches are there giving me confidence, so I have to learn from my mistakes, be positive, and bounce back next game.”
