MANILA, Philippines – It meant more than just a game-winner.

Bay Area star Myles Powell turned emotional as he drained the buzzer-beating triple in a nail-biting 105-104 win over NorthPort in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday, September 24.

Powell broke into tears in the post-game press conference as he looked back on his basketball career that took him to the Philippines – his first overseas stint after a short-lived run in the NBA.

“Just thinking about everything I sacrificed, the crisis that my family is going through with my brother being locked up, and my whole career,” said Powell.

“Going from Seton Hall – I was in New Jersey – then being picked up by the Knicks, and then playing for Philly. This is really the first time that I’ve ever been away from home.”

A Big East Player of the Year in his final season in the NCAA for the Seton Hall Pirates, Powell went unselected in the 2020 NBA Draft before being picked up by the Westchester Knicks in the NBA G League.

He signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks, but the franchise immediately waived him.

The 25-year-old guard finally stepped foot in the NBA after inking a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, although he played just 11 games and averaged only 1.2 points in limited minutes earlier this year.

After a roller-coaster NBA journey, Powell seemed to have gotten his break in the PBA as he averages 39 points, 7 rebounds, and 2.5 steals, including a 41-point eruption in the Dragons’ 46-point rout of Blackwater.

He then followed that up with 37 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals against the gritty Batang Pier.

“Just thinking about my brother, I wish he was able to see that one. It’s a good feeling. We’re going to get back to work,” Powell said.

It was such a sensational performance from Powell that NorthPort stalwart Robert Bolick went out of his way to congratulate the Bay Area ace in the middle of the post-game press conference.

Powell, though, refused to take all the credit.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates. You guys keep hearing me say that, but the coaching staff, my teammates, they believe in me just as much as I believe in them. They’re making everything easy for me,” he said.

The Dragons shoot for a 3-0 record when they face Phoenix on October 1 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. – Rappler.com