San Miguel took its fate into its own hands, finishing strongly to beat a woeful TNT, 98-92, and even things out in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Don Trollano spearheaded their solid windup, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. He came through with key hits that gradually took the fight out of a Tropang 5G side that suddenly went cold after roaring in the period prior.
The seasoned winger knocked down a long jumper, then hit a layup off a drive to the cup. Finally, he swished in a trifecta for a personal 7-0 run to push their lead to a decade’s worth at 92-82 with 3:59 left, putting themselves in control for good.
Trollano shot 10-of-16 from the floor and also collared six rebounds to banner the Beermen’s vengeful bounce-back after Game 1 got away from them due to a technicality that nullified Mo Tautuaa’s supposed go-ahead dunk.
(C) PBA Images
The veteran bruiser himself showed how much he wanted to bounce back, delivering 16 points and four rebounds. He made the most of the opportunity Coach Leo Austria gave him by including his name in the first five.
It helped his cause, too, that he had one less problem to deal with defensively after counterpart Poy Erram suffered an ankle injury early in the third quarter, never to return — contributing to TNT’s struggles in the endgame.
“Before the start of the game, pagdating niya dito sa dugout, ako pa nagtanong sa kaniya, ‘Mo, if it is okay, I will start you tonight.’ Sabi niya, ‘Yes, coach,’” said the champion mentor, lauding the 36-year-old for his efforts.
“Biglang nagbihis agad, nag-warm up. Sabi ko this is a sign, I know he will bounce back,” he added. “He is a good help to our team tonight.”
June Mar Fajardo contributed 17 points and nine rebounds. Meanwhile, Jeron Teng provided the spark with 10 points, all of which he scored in the first half as he was key in SMB building a 51-39 advantage entering the break.
Chris Ross provided a significant contribution once more with seven points, four rebounds, and seven assists. Ditto for Jericho Cruz with his 6-6-7 stat line to help the team level the series at one game apiece entering Game 3.
“We’ve been in this adversity and we know what to do,” Austria said on facing an early one-game Finals deficit. “Plus, the support of the management, especially coach Al, he was in our practice to motivate us.”
“It’s a good support from the management dahil alam nila kaya pa rin namin manalo at pinatunayan namin ngayon. I told them na the chance is still there. It’s a best of seven, it’s just one loss,” he added.
(C) PBA Images
Calvin Oftana, meanwhile, had 23 points and seven rebounds for TNT. Jordan Heading made 15 points while Kelly Williams added 11 and eight boards.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser added 10 in the loss. The young big may need to take on a much bigger role come Friday’s match, with the cloud of uncertainty hanging above Erram’s status.
Erram had to be escorted out of the Big Dome on a wheelchair and will undergo X-rays on Thursday for a better assessment of his injury.
The Scores:
San Miguel 98 – Trollano 22, Fajardo 17, Tautuaa 16, Teng 10, Perez 8, Ross 7, Cruz 6, Brondial 6, Tiongson 4, Lassiter 2
TNT 92 – Oftana 23, Heading 15, Williams 11, Ganuelas-Rosser 10, Enciso 7, Erram 6, Pogoy 6, Khobuntin 6, Aurin 4, Heruela 4, Galinato 0, Varilla 0, Nieto 0
Quarterscores: 23-19, 51-39, 75-74, 98-92.
