Oct 13, 2019

KJ McDaniels: 'I just go out there to do what I have to help the team'

FOR KJ McDaniels, it was just another day at the office.

Despite a career-best of 51 points, McDaniels shrugged off the feat and was more than gratified TnT Katropa came away with a 116-113 come-from-behind win over Meralco Bolts in their PBA Governors Cup showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The former NBA player was mainly responsible for keeping the Katropa in the game despite staring at an early 19-point deficit during the Petron Saturday Special.

McDaniels sizzled for 22 points in the third quarter alone and later on, joined hands with hotshot Roger Pogoy and veteran guard Jayson Castro when the Katropa made the final push in the pivotal fourth.

The prolific import ended up with 10 rebounds and went 17-of-25 from the field, including 5-of-10 from three-point range as he got the better end of his match-up with Meralco's Allen Durham, who finished with 43 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists.

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"Buti na lang andiyan siya lagi," said coach Bong Ravena of another job well done by the 26-year-old McDaniels.

But the import is not crowing about the scoring feat, which he said 'might be' the first time he finished with more than 50 points.

"I don't really go out there to score points," he said. "I just want to keep better and keep making my teammates better.

"I just go out there to do what I have to help the team."

Meralco coach Norman Black acknowledged the talent of McDaniels, but was really surprised that the one-time Houston Rocket could knock down those outside shots better than he thought.

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"I just didn't know he shot the ball as well as he's been shooting it here," said the former Best Import. "But he's playing with a lot of confidence. We tried just about everything against him, we switched on him and he's still able to get to the basket. He was a tough guy to guard tonight."

If that's not enough, McDaniels is looking forward of getting better and facing more challenges ahead.

"Just keep rolling from here," he curtly said. (RG)