Mark Barroca conceded that the San Miguel Beermen’s bench mob made it a tough Sunday night for him and Magnolia, which ultimately led to the Hotshots’ 87-111 demise in Game Three of the 2018 Philippine Cup Finals.
San Miguel’s second stringers Brian Heruela, Gabby Espinas, and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser were all on the floor in the final 12 minutes, and were all pivotal in their team’s finishing 17-3 kick en route to the victory and to the 2-1 series lead.
What makes it truly commendable is the fact that the troika stepped up in lieu of main man June Mar Fajardo and guards Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot, who were all on the bench and did not play a single second in the payoff period.
“Tinalo na naman kami ng second group nila,” rued Barroca, as San Miguel received 33 points from their bench. “Ang hirap talaga kasi nakapahinga pa ang first five nila.
“Nung pagpasok ni Gabby at saka ni Heruela… Parang mas lalo pa silang lumayo.”
Even head coach Chito Victolero acknowledged such fact, saying that Magnolia were caught off-guard with the way San Miguel’s second unit showed up — that same bench only had a total of 25 points in Games One and Two.
“Hindi ko naman in-expect na ganoon ‘yung lalaruin talaga ngayon,” said the second-year Hotshots mentor. “And we have a problem with Heruela.
“Last game Heruela and Rosser. Now, even Espinas contributed doon sa game.”
But if there had been a valuable lesson that Magnolia learned from Game Three, Barroca said that they should have capitalized on Fajardo’s absence.
“Dapat tini-take advantage namin na wala si June Mar,” said the 31-year-old. “So next time kapag ganoong sitwasyon, sabi nga ni Ping (Marc Pingris) sa amin kanina doon sa loob… Dapat i-take advantage naming dapat.”
Magnolia are now down 2-1, and the pressure has piled up on their side, as San Miguel are keen on making it a 3-1 lead come Game Four. And for the seven-year pro, he hopes that they’ll find ways to equalize and extend the best-of-seven series.
“Yun nga, backs against the wall talaga kami ngayon. So yun ang i-treat namin ang game [na do-or-die] kasi mahirap na ma-3-1,” said the 5-foot-10 point guard. “Kailangan makabalik kami sa 0-0 para at least humaba ang series.
“Yun ang parang iniisip namin ngayon. Hindi na namin iniisip na ma-straight namin sila. Ang sa isip lang namin ay habaan ang series.”
