Tyler Bey on duel with Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson: ‘It was a great experience’

During the elimination round of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Magnolia import Tyler Bey outperformed Quincy Miller, leading the Hotshots to victory over TNT.

In the quarterfinals, Bey faced Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson and he described the competition as a “positive and valuable experience.”

“It was a great experience. I have a lot of respect for every player in TNT but he’s an OG in the game and his brother’s a great player. I got a lot of respect just from competing with him and I look forward to competing against guys like that and it’s a learning experience,” said Bey shortly after Magnolia booked the first semis seat.

“I’m just blessed to be here, to play the game and be in this team with an amazing coaching staff. They prepared me for him and each player on the team so it was a great experience.”

Bey had an exceptional performance in the win, recording a double-double of 41 points and 13 rebounds, along with five steals and three blocks.

Hollis-Jefferson also had a remarkable game, coming close to a triple-double with 27 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds.

The matchup between Bey and her opponent ended with Bey as the winner.

In a notable achievement, the former Dallas Maverick tied with Alvin Patrimonio for the most made free throws without a miss in franchise history, adding to the sweetness of their victory.

According to him, his performance on the stripe and in general was influenced by the lessons he learned from Magnolia’s previous game against Meralco.

“I feel like I just learned from the last game against Meralco. It was a physical game and I was frustrated. I just needed to learn how to handle adversity, talked to coach and it kept my energy up, my teammates kept my energy up. I’m a big part of my team and I know I have a big responsibility. I just feel like I just stepped up mental-wise and I’m just trying to keep it going.”

“Today was fun. I got my composure and for me, it’s just learning how to handle the physicality and play through non or bad calls. I worked on my free throws a lot in the past couple of days and it just showed up today.”

The Hotshots will face the winner of the Meralco-Phoenix series, which will be decided on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.