It has always been so simple for Troy Rosario whenever he sets foot on the court: play according to whatever the opposing defense throws his way.
He did the same on Sunday night and, lo and behold, it led to his best game in a Ginebra jersey to date which, more importantly, enabled the crowd darlings to sustain their climb in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
The veteran big man finished with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Barangay to a 93-81 conquest of San Miguel to extend their winning streak to three and rise to fourth in the standings with a 5-2 record.
“From this game and sa mga game ko before, I just take what the defense is giving me,” he said after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings took on a Beermen side that paraded a towering combo of June Mar Fajardo and Jabari Narcis up front and Rosario himself helped negate the imposing presence of both big men inside by stretching the floor.
He was indeed effective in doing so, as evidenced by the four threes he nailed — two of which he made in the fourth quarter alone to help douse water to their foes’ attempt at a rally and re-establish their control of the game.
“They’re clogging the paint, binabantayan ako ni June Mar, nung import so nilalabas ko sila. Kasi ‘yun ang game plan, which is to space out ‘yung bigs para magkaroon ng lane to attack,” said Rosario, who shot 9-of-14 from the field.
The 32-year-old has shown how much he’s getting familiar with Ginebra’s scheme of things following his showing and Coach Tim Cone himself was left impressed, calling his prized ward the ‘X factor’ against SMB.
“He was all over the floor. He’s always been all over the floor defensively for us and on the boards and been that X factor for us,” he said.
“But tonight he was also huge on the offensive side, knocking down shots, getting offensive rebounds,” added the league’s winningest mentor.
What Cone really appreciated about Rosario the most was how he represented how the Kings, as a collective, went out hard in downing their rivals, who fell to their second loss in a row and dropped to an even 3-3 record.
“Troy kind of represented our performance tonight and I thought we just really played hard,” he said. “And again, Troy kind of represents that for us.
“He’s not in the proper rhythm to play. It could be any game.”
