SMB's first loss plays 'KJ' in Kevin Jones solid debut

MANILA, Philippines – Kevin Jones had a solid debut – 35 points on 16-of-27 shooting, 13 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a couple of blocks with only two turnovers in 40 minutes of play.

But those eye-popping numbers were all buried under the San Miguel Beermen’s first loss of the conference.

Talk n Text played “kill joy” on KJ’s debut running away with a 107-99 victory Friday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Related Story: Texters survive 'Black-out'

The Beermen bashers online were up in arms when Jones came in. He was thrust into a tough situation.

Jones replaced a bonafide NBA veteran in Josh Boone, who was lackluster in the scrimmages but turned out to be a spectacular and a “glue guy” in the actual games.

Boone averaged 24 points and 18.5 rebounds to go with 3 dimes and 1.5 shot blocks in the Beermen’s first two games which they won by an average of 17 points even without their top local threat Junemar Fajardo.

Unfortunately for Boone, Jones was already called to plane in even before he was to play his first game in the PBA.

“There was pressure but at the same time, I could not think about it and I have to go out there and just play my game. That’s what I did,” said the 24-year old import.

For the Texters, it helped that their import Richard Howell had played against Jones in the D-League Showcase before heading here and Talk n Text coach Norman Black have seen him play in college.

“Actually I saw Kevin Jones play in college when he played for Bobby Huggins for West Virginia. He’s more of a wingman then but he’s gained a lot of weight now since his college days so he’s more of a power forward now, Black said. “We knew he’s a pretty good player coming in.”

But despite Howell’s scouting report and Black’s knowledge of Jones’ game, the former D-League All Star was still able to pile up 18 points right in the opening half.

It was not a problem though for the Texters as they clamped down on the locals to establish a big lead, 51-38, at the half.

“Statistically, I really don’t expect more. I’m not concerned about the number of points or rebounds. It’s a matter of chemistry,” San Miguel Beer team consultant Todd Purves said of their new import.

For Purves, who is also under microscope after he was thrust into more active role on the bench this conference, explained that it’s hard to pass the judgment on the decision to replace Boone with Jones in just one game.

“Junemar (Fajardo) came back today and Kevin played his first game. They haven’t had the chance to play together until today. We need to continuously work on our chemistry so we can get these guys involved,” explained Purves.  “I though he played hard and I believe he’ll be a good fit to us.”

And Jones reinforced Purves’ belief.   

“I know as I keep on playing, our bond and our chemistry will get stronger,” Jones said.

“I just have to figure out what everybody does and everybody’s strengths and just find my role in this team.  I know they probably gonna look for me to score and look for me at certain situations, I just have to find a way to react to that,” he added.

Jones was greeted in the PBA by its physical brand of play. As easy as it looked on paper the way he piled up those numbers, it was a lot tougher as he soon found out in every bump he had in his debut. He had to grind it out and still failed to get the win.  

“It’s definitely physical out there. You just have to play through it. It’s a tough league,” Jones said.

And it gets tougher when you are playing for the winningest franchise which has not won a championship in a long while.