RIZAL, Philippines – Thomas Robinson hopes there is no bad blood between him and San Miguel as he faced his former squad, leading his new team NLEX to its first win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The former NBA player showed out with 42 points, 20 rebounds, and 5 assists to propel the Road Warriors to a come-from-behind 117-113 overtime victory over the debuting Beermen in Antipolo on Wednesday, November 15.

Although Robinson admitted it was a “personal” encounter for him, he said he has nothing but respect for the San Miguel franchise.

“I love all the players over there. I actually wish I got to play with those guys. I don’t know how the front office feels about me over there, but hopefully, there’s no bad blood,” said Robinson.

“Respect for the whole program and the organization.”

The Beermen tapped Robinson to be their import for the Commissioner’s Cup last season, but he never played a game for San Miguel as the No. 5 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft suffered a back injury.

Robinson left for the United States to recover, prompting the Beermen to replace him with fellow former NBA player Diamond Stone.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. Just bad luck,” said Robinson.

Playing against San Miguel seemed to have brought the best out of Robinson as he redeemed himself after a frustrating showing in their conference-opening 113-101 loss to Phoenix.

Robinson put up 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks against the Fuel Masters, but he also recorded 10 turnovers as NLEX frittered away an 18-point lead.

“It was a good win. We needed it. We let that first one slip. We’re supposed to be on a 2-0 start, but I think it motivated us to come out here tonight and fight all the way to end,” said Robinson. – Rappler.com