San Miguel flexed its depth once more and that proved to be the reason why the PBA Philippine Cup Finals has been reduced to a virtual best-of-3.
The Beermen, as usual, leaned on June Mar Fajardo anew to take Game 4 and tie the series at two games apiece but the return of Vic Manuel and Terrence Romeo spelled much of the difference that made it tough for the Bolts.
“I talked to Terrence and Vic and said that if there’s a chance that I can bring you inside, can you play 110-percent? And they did,” said Coach Jorge Gallent after the 111-110 win at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Wednesday night.
Both Romeo and Manuel got sidelined after their semifinal battle versus Rain or Shine and it wasn’t until Game 4 that they finally came back.
The three-time scoring champion remains listed as day-to-day due to a right calf strain yet he still chose to play through it in the crucial tiff.
“He just decided to play because he really wanted to help the team. I’m very happy that ‘yun ‘yung mentality niya,” Gallent said,
The seasoned big man, on the other hand, is still regaining his timing after getting sick, which forced him to stay at home for 10-12 days.
“That was a 14-day break so he didn’t practice, I think, for 10 to 12 days kasi he was feeling really ill. Then he just stayed in his house. He’s just getting his breath back, and it’s coming back,” Gallent said.
(C) PBA Images
The two played limited minutes but impacted SMB a lot. Manuel scored eight points in just seven minutes, with two rebounds and an assist.
Romeo, meanwhile, chipped in seven points — spiked by a three-pointer — and chalked up a rebound and three assists as well.
“They have depth,” offered Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo.
“They all chipped in. They gave us problems with that two-big lineup with Mo and June Mar; they went small also with Vic at the 5. They have a lot of weapons.”
Gallent couldn’t be any happier to see the way Romeo and Manuel delivered, something that the Beermen badly needed as a way to address the problems being caused by the opposition, particularly the coverage on Fajardo.
“Very happy that they followed the instructions,” he said as the defending champions played easily their best game of the series.
