John Wilson reaches 1,000-point MPBL milestone

MANILA, Philippines – San Juan-Go for Gold star John Wilson etched his name in Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL)  history when he became the first player in the two-year-old league to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

But heading to the game, the 32-year-old swingman was not aware of the record he was about to reach in San Juan’s matchup against the Pasig Sta. Lucia-Realtors in the Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Cup on Saturday, January 11.

It was only when a staff member approached him right before tipoff that he became fully aware of what was about to unfold. 

However, instead of forcing things, Wilson stuck to the game plan and let things come his way.

And well, it indeed paid dividends for the NCAA Season 86 Most Valuable Player out of Jose Rizal University.

“Actually noong magju-jump ball nga e, binulungan ako nung isang staff na kailangan ko 4 points lang,” shared Wilson, a native of Binangonan Rizal. “Sabi ko, ‘relax lang, darating naman yun e.’”

“So hindi ko naman masyadong pinilit na parang umi-score ng umi-score, dumating lang talaga na na-shoshoot ko naman yung mga tira ko.”

(Before the jump ball, a staff told me that I only needed 4 points. I just said, ‘relax, we’ll get there.’ So I didn’t force myself to score or anything, the shooting just came.)

Needing only 4 points to solidify his place in history, Wilson drained a jumper in the opening minute of the match to close in on the milestone. He then reached the feat after swishing a three-pointer in the 4:35 mark of the same quarter.

“Very blessed na ako yung unang player na naka-reach ng 1,000. Happy naman ako sa performance ko kasi pinaghihirapan ko naman talaga ‘yung every game,” said Wilson, who now has 1,020 points under his name.

(I feel very blessed to become the first player to reach 1,000. I’m happy with my performance because I really worked hard every game.)

Wilson – who was drafted by Barangay Ginebra 7th overall in 2010 – finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. 

More importantly, he steered San Juan past Pasig, 109-99, en route to a league-best 22-3 win-loss standing. 

The victory also put a thin gap between the Knights and second-placed Manila, which holds a 21-4 card in the Northern Division.  

In other games, Gab Banal’s triple-double performance led Bacoor to a dominant 98-67 victory over Muntinlup-Angelis Resort while Bacolod-Master Sardines revived its playoff chances with a 96-89 victory against Basilan-Jumbo Plastic. – Rappler.com