Anything can happen in PBA

MANILA, Philippines - Barako Bull’s all-purpose player Willy Wilson said yesterday in the PBA Philippine Cup, any team can win on any given night and the unpredictability gives hope to teams like the Energy to climb the ladder to the top.

Wilson, 35, said in the same way, any player has the chance to shine with the right breaks. A case in point is himself. In the ongoing Philippine Cup, Wilson has matched his career scoring high of 17 points and reset it by hitting 18 in Barako’s 106-105 loss to San Miguel Beer at the Ynares Center in Antipolo last Sunday. He’s norming 13.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, one of only six players to average a double-double. The others are Barangay Ginebra’s Greg Slaughter (22.8 points, 15.3 rebounds), NLEX’ Sean Anthony (20.8 points, 13.2 rebounds), NLEX’ Asi Taulava 20 points, 13.8 rebounds), San Miguel’s JuneMar Fajardo (19.7 points, 14.3 rebounds) and Mahindra’s Mark Yee (11.7 points, 10.2 rebounds).

Now on his 12th PBA season, Wilson is finally getting recognition as a major player in the league. He leads Barako Bull in field goal percentage (53.7), rebounding, assists (3.2) and minutes (35.5). Wilson is hitting a lofty 62.2 percent from two-point range and 74.2 percent from the line.

It took The STAR to inform Wilson that he now has a new career scoring high. “Honestly, I’m not a stats guy,” said the 6-3 Fil-Am. “I’m not a rebound chaser either. I defer to my teammates a lot. I’m not a high volume guy who puts up a lot of shots. I’m basically a role player. Every coach wants you to do something different. With coach Tim (Cone) at Alaska, I was the initiator. With coach Chot (Reyes) who gave me a break, it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t score. He just wanted me to hustle, get the loose ball, defend and rebound. I played four in offense and three in defense. With coach Jong (Uichico) at Ginebra, I became a scorer and a few plays were run to isolate me in the elbow. I learned from every coach I played for – from coach Tim to coach Chot to coach Biboy (Ravanes) to coach Siot (Tanquingcen) to coach Jong to coach Ato (Agustin) to coach Alfrancis (Chua) to coach Bong (Ramos) and now to coach Koy (Banal).”

At Barako Bull, Wilson said he couldn’t be happier. “Coach Koy is always upbeat, pumps you up and is details-oriented and a great tactician with the Xs and Os,” he said. “We play as a team. Our best player is J. C. (Intal) but in the midst of a game, we defer to whoever has the hot hand. It could be J. C. or R. R. (Garcia) or Josh (Urbiztondo) or Jeric (Fortuna) or Mick (Pennisi). Coach Koy wants a concerted effort and gives us a chance to win. We go out there and play our role. We don’t force shots, we attack the mismatch, we’re a read-and-react team. I used to share playing time with other guys and I was always the third or fourth guy in the rotation. Now, I’m doing a bit more. I think we have a good chance this conference. We lost to San Miguel, probably the best team in the league, by one and Mahindra nearly beat Ginebra. So who knows what will happen? We’ll just keep playing hard and smart.”

Banal called Wilson the team’s Draymond Green, the Golden State Warriors’ undersized and overachieving power forward.  Green was an NBA second round draft pick and Wilson a PBA second round draft pick. “Willy’s Draymond Yellow because that’s our team color,” chuckled Banal. Wilson said the Energy isn’t close to being compared to the Warriors but because both teams play small ball, there’s a similarity. “If Golden State has Steve Kerr, we’ve got Steve Koy,” said Wilson. “And Josh can sometimes hit those three likes (Steph) Curry.”

Working hard is Wilson’s secret to his PBA longevity. “I’m all about team goals,” he said. “In my rookie year, coach Tim taught me the importance of doing things that don’t show up in the stats sheet. He had a hustle chart that tracked offensive rebounds, tips, tap-outs, deflections. It was doing the little things and contributing to the team winning without getting big stats. Because of my size and my position, I’ve got to be strong. I’m in the weight room at least three days a week, about an hour a day. I have to take care of my body to be strong on the court. When we don’t play a game, my routine is I go to practice from 9 to 12, go home, take a nap, play with my kids, go to the weight room from 5 to 6, go back home and sleep. I’m lucky that there’s a weight room in the village where we live.”

Wilson stays in a Taguig village where his neighbors include Rico Maierhofer, Willie Miller, Kerby Raymundo and Japeth Aguilar. He lives with his Fil-Italian wife Maria del Rosario, a former St. Benilde basketball team muse and their two children, Kelya, 5 and Cameron, 2. Wilson was born in Los Angeles and moved to Manila to play college basketball at La Salle.

“My contract expires at the end of the season,” said Wilson whose American father Richard is a retired electrical transport supervisor and Filipina mother Editha Ventenilla is from Bayambang, Pangasinan. “I’m hoping to keep going. As long as I stay healthy and I’m able to contribute to my team, I’ll keep playing. I’ve established roots in the Philippines and when I retire from playing, I’m staying here with my family. We’ve made some investments in property and my wife is involved in a few businesses like a pharmacy, tutorial center and a laundromat. I’ve jokingly told my wife when I retire from playing, it’ll be her turn to support the family.”