Vintage Williams reaches milestone

Kelly Williams again proves that age is just a number as he reached a career milestone following TNT Tropang 5G’s 105-95 victory over Terrafirma in the Philippine Basketball Association Season 50 Philippine Cup over the weekend at the Ynares Center in Montalban.

The 43-year-old Williams displayed his vintage shooting form as he emerged as the oldest player to knock down eight three-pointers to power the Tropang 5G to their fifth win in six matches in the season-opening conference.

“I’ve got to give glory to God. To have this turnaround, it’s got to be all Him,” said the 6-foot-7 Williams, who was tapped as the top overall pick of Sta. Lucia Realty in 2006 before being traded to TNT in 2010. He already retired in 2019 but returned two years later when Chot Reyes took the coaching cudgels.

“Coach (Chot Reyes) has given me the opportunities to do what I do and he’s been trusting me, and my teammates have been trusting me to take the shots. I wanna do right by the opportunity I have — take it and make it. Coach always tells me to shoot it.”

Even Reyes admitted that without Williams beating a hungry team like Terrafirma will not be easy.

“Terrafirma completely outplayed us. We had no energy, we had no urgency and we were lucky that Kelly bailed us out. If Kelly didn’t hit all those three-pointers, then I don’t think I would be sitting here right now because all the rest of our guys couldn’t make a shot,” Reyes said.

“Other nights, he’ll help us with his defense, with his playmaking abilities. But it’s such a luxury for me as a coach to have a player like Kelly who can do it and more importantly, he has the humility to accept and play a role this late in his career.”

Williams has been integral to the Tropang 5G since joining the Tropang 5G.

In fact, he won nine titles with the Manny Pangilinan-owned franchise, including a three-peat in the Philippine Cup from 2011 to 2013.