Even Don Trollano himself could not pinpoint exactly why he laid a big fat egg during San Miguel’s eventual loss to TNT last Sunday in Antipolo.
“Hindi ko rin alam,” he said with a chuckle while recalling their 89-84 defeat — their second in the PBA Philippine Cup.
“Siguro, I was not playing hard.”
Trollano had been averaging 13.0 points entering the clash between long-time corporate rivals, only to go scoreless for the first time in quite a while.
Following a double check with league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III, the last time the 33-year-old finished with zero points was in the recent Commissioner’s Cup last January 12, although the Beermen beat Magnolia that time, 85-78.
His wide smile, though, did not mean that he’d just move on as if nothing happened. Behind that was his eagerness to bounce back.
Thus, the assertiveness on the part of the veteran winger when they took on Phoenix exactly a week after that sorry loss to his former team.
(C) PBA Images
Trollano submitted 21 points, including 15 in the first half, as his fiery start ultimately enabled San Miguel to post the 111-92 victory.
“Bad game ako last game. Sobrang eager ko to bounce back ngayong game na ‘to,” he said after the match at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“Nakuha ko naman.”
Aside from that desire for redemption, helping his side prevent going down further in the standings served as an added push for the two-time champ, leading to what would be his best performance of this conference to date.
By getting back on track quickly, San Miguel remained at third in the rankings with a 4-2 record, sitting just behind the 5-0 Magnolia and NLEX (4-1).
“We can’t afford to lose back-to-back games kasi ‘yung standings eh dikit-dikit; ‘pag natalo eh babagsak kami,” Trollano said.
“The mindset was just to win.”
#WATCH: San Miguel’s defense, not just depth, was key to their dominant win over Phoenix, says Leo Austria 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/Frpeh0Ewgg
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) May 11, 2025
