Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
The next time his Alaska brothers need him, Mike Harris vows to be readily available to help them bounce back from yet another Finals defeat.
The winner of the PBA Governors’ Cup Best Import award said on Wednesday night that he will definitely be back for another tour of duty if the Aces would want him again. This after he claimed that someone from Magnolia disrespected him after the Hotshots won the crown at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“They chased me for eight years [to get me here], so it’s my turn to chase them [Alaska management] for a few months now [to take me back],” Harris said after telling reporters what happened after the game.
“They mocked us, it was just lack of respect,” said Harris, who didn’t go into mentioning the specific person behind the taunt. “[It was] total disrespect of character for a person to be like that, especially for someone of their age and respect in the league.”
The series ended 4-2 after a 102-86 Magnolia win on Wednesday, though the final tally doesn’t really give an idea how close the series was.
And coming so close, Harris said, that gave him the “fuel” to come back and do something he did in Puerto Rico—where something very similar happened while he suited up for Leones de Ponce.
Harris used the disrespect as fuel to help his team win two straight titles. He was also named Finals MVP both times—keeping him too busy to sign up with the Aces in 2010.
“But it’s OK, don’t worry about it,” Harris said of the latest incident. “It’s part of the game [and] they’re excited. But it’s something I’ll never forget and it’s great fuel for next year if they (Aces) will have me [again].”
Right now, he feels for his Alaska teammates.
“It’s heartbreaking, especially with them,” he said. “But the team and the franchise are definitely making a step in the right direction.”
And Harris wants to be there when the Aces finally step on Promised Land again.