San Miguel Beermen import EJ Anosike during the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals Game 2 against Converge FiberXers. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Beer import EJ Anosike has only played two games with the Beermen in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs but he has brought great results for coach Jorge Gallent.
In fact, in his second game alone he powered the Beermen to a 2-0 lead over Converge in the import-laden conference’s best-of-five quarterfinals.
In the Beermen’s 107-100 close victory over the FiberXers on Saturday, he Anosike his Converge counterpart Jalen Jones in a neck-and-neck affair.
READ: PBA: San Miguel nears semifinals, repeats over Converge
“I think he’s a talented player,” Anosike said of Jones. “Every import [like him] that came into this league was talented and they played big roles to put their teams in a position to win.”
Jones dropped a monster double-double of 36 points and 12 rebounds but it just wasn’t enough to upset the Beermen as they crashed to a virtual thrice-to-win disadvantage.
READ: PBA: Jorge Gallent, San Miguel expect torrid Converge fightback
It was Anosike who got the last laugh as he scored a game-high 41 points with nine rebounds and five assists to match, pushing San Miguel to the cusp of a Governors’ Cup semifinals seat.
When asked how excited he was to clash with Jones anew in the all-important Game 3, Anosike said ready to take on everyone–not Jones–just to push the Beermen to a sweeping victory.
“I’m excited to play against everybody. I think the series isn’t over yet,” Anosike said.
“We got to continue to compete and get better and that’s the good thing about the playoffs. Every game counts and matters so I look forward to going out there with my team.”