There was no love lost between former San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags Ian Sangalang of the Magnolia Hotshots and Mike Miranda of the NLEX Road Warriors, Wednesday evening.
With both of them wanting to will their teams to a 2-1 series lead, the two big men almost got into it during the third quarter of Game Three.
It all began with 5:27 left in the quarter, as the 6-foot-7 Sangalang was called for an offensive foul after accidentally swinging an elbow against the 6-foot-6 Miranda. Agitated, Miranda then tried to get on Sangalang’s nerves, as the Hotshot went for an offensive rebound 34 seconds later. Miranda tried to body up Sangalang and was called for a foul.
Though they did not exchange words after the game, the two former teammates downplayed what happened, saying that it’s all part of the game.
“Kilala naman natin si Michael, gagawin niya best niya para mapikon ako,” shared Sangalang, who finished with 24 points and seven rebounds.
“Pero alam ko naman gagawin niya. So stay focused lang ako sa game. So nakuha ko game ko nung bandang huli.”
“Wala yun. Laro lang naman iyon. Ganon talaga. Pisikalan lang,” recalled Miranda, who had 11 points and four rebounds in the contest.
And with both players wanting to help out their teams, it won’t be surprising to see the two clash again later in the series.
