NLEX import Manny Harris. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Looking at the numbers, it may have seemed like Manny Harris singlehandedly carried NLEX past league-leading TNT in a nip-and-tuck 126-113 decision Friday night.
But the American import stressed it was actually team effort that helped Road Warriors scrape past sweet-shooting KaTropa, who absorbed their first loss of the tournament.
That collaborative energy was all the nudge Harris needed in the third quarter to take his team out of a rut and eventually in front of TNT the rest of the way.
“To be honest, our team helped a lot. Our team played great today. Everybody who stepped on the court, even the bench—they gave us energy all [night],”
“[The] team just kept telling me to keep shooting,” he continued. “They knew I was kind of sick coming in so they didn’t let me down, they kept saying, ‘keep shooting, keep shooting.’”
Harris ended up with a 40-point job, 20 of which coming in that blistering third frame that spelled the turnaround for NLEX.
“He’s kind of deceiving. He looks very light,” coach Yeng Guiao said of his reinforcement, who had replaced an equally reliable one in Olu Ashaolu five games into the conference.
“But against a strong import like KJ McDaniels, he still did a great job,” he added.
Harris also ended up with nine assists and seven steals in a showdown between two NBA-caliber imports.
“I’ve had a skinny frame my whole life,” he said. “But I’m just a competitor, so every night, I want to work and fight and just try to do whatever to get us the win.”
“I think this win gives us confidence and it feels good. For now. We know it’s just one game and there are a lot more of games to be played,” he said.