It was more than just settling an old score for Don Trollano as San Miguel crossed paths with Meralco in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
For the seasoned winger, it was also about exorcising a ghost that has been haunting him since that one cold night of June 16 of last year.
“Parang hinau-haunt ako nun eh,” he reflected.
Trollano was referring to the game-winner Chris Newsome hit in Game 6 to beat the Beermen and, more importantly, clinch the Season 48 Philippine Cup crown.
The game was tied at 78-all, and the Bolts, of course, went to their main man, and he responded aptly with a baseline jumper for the lead with 1.4 seconds left.
He knocked it down over the outstretched arms of Trollano.
SMB had one last chance, but June Mar Fajardo missed the potential game-snatching trey, and Meralco went on to win its first-ever PBA championship.
That’s why it’s totally understandable why Trollano found it so hard to move on, for he did what he could to stop Newsome, but to no avail.
‘”Yung last shot ni Newsome, ako pa ‘yung ano roon eh,” he recalled.
But as fate would have it, both teams met one another 369 days after that Finals face-off, giving San Miguel a chance to earn a measure of payback.
Some thought that it was too early for a rematc,h but that’s how the luck of the draw had gone, although Trollano wanted it more than anyone else.
Thus, the spirited performance he put up on Friday, firing 19 points along with six rebounds to help the twice-to-beat Beermen oust the Bolts, 108-97, and become the first to reach the semis of the season-ending conference.
He already punched in 12 points in the first half, eight of which he produced in the opening frame alone as the Beermen raced to a 35-20 lead.
Trollano was crucial as well in the fourth, hitting a three-pointer to push their lead to its biggest at 18, 100-82, with 6:14 left to put the game away.
As the buzzer sounded, Trollano finally felt relief as he could no longer be tormented by that one play that had bothered him for a year.
“Buti ngayon, nakabawi,” he beamed.
#WATCH: Don Trollano relishes San Miguel’s revenge win over Meralco 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/oHMMVvOj9y
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) June 20, 2025
