Charles Rhodes skips past Jay Washington. PBA IMAGES
To say that Charles Rhodes was motivated in San Miguel’s game against Rain or Shine on Saturday may be an understatement.
With last collegiate game almost a decade back in mind, the 31-year-old reinforcement was glad to get retribution on Shawn Taggart, a member of the Memphis squad which eliminated his Mississippi State in the Second Round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
“That was my last college game. I just wanted to win this game because last time, I lost,” he said.
READ: San Miguel stays spotless with Rain or Shine rout
While Taggart didn’t really guard him much in that game, a duty that fell into the hands of former Alaska import Rob Dozier, the feeling of redemption is still incomparable for Rhodes.
“Even though Taggart didn’t guard me that much because he didn’t play that much because it was Dozier who played against me a lot, it’s all about revenge,” he said.
Rhodes fended off his early foul trouble woes and unloaded 26 points, alongside six rebounds and two assists in the Beermen’s 111-98 victory over the Elasto Painters.
Though the import was elated to have gotten his comeuppance, he was more concerned about lifting San Miguel to the top of the standings at 5-0.
“It’s a bigger breather to be 5-0 and to win this game with my team stepping up when I got in foul trouble. I give a lot of credit to my teammates for stepping up like that and I really appreciate them for that,” he said. “If I get in foul trouble, they step up, and if they get in foul trouble, I step up. This is what this team is all about. That’s why we got a good chemistry.”
But Rhodes still isn’t satisfied and so is coach Leo Austria, who asked the 6-foot-8 Galveston, Texas native to perform better and play wiser in the coming games.
“Coach challenges me because I’m new to Philippine basketball. I knew I had to learn on the move and every game, I got to learn something. This game, I’ll watch the tapes and watch the fouls I made. I got to watch that,” he said.
San Miguel returns to the court on May 5 against TNT.