DON Trollano was forced to foul Calvin Oftana when TNT won the jumpball shortly after Mo Tautuaa’s dunk was nullified late in Game 1 of the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup Finals, and San Miguel, all of a sudden, was down by one.
With San Miguel in penalty, Oftana was given two free throws and calmly sank both as TNT captured the series opener, 99-96, and Trollano admitted having a hard time sleeping that Sunday night thinking about the win that got away.
“Nung nangyari ‘yun, actually, siyempre galit kami,” Trollano said. “I think we were about to win. Actually, hindi ako nakatulog. I was eager to bounce back.”
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Bounce back Trollano did in Game 2 last Wednesday as the San Miguel guard scored a team-high 22 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, in the Beermen’s 98-92 win over the Tropang 5G.
Trollano had 13 points in Game 1 but had to earn every basket as he went 4-of-13 from the field. In Game 2, Trollano shot better, making 10 of his 16 attempts, including nine from two-point range.
San Miguel coach Leo Austria was glad that one of his former college players at Adamson responded after the disappointing result in Game 1.
“Hindi kami pinatulog. Halos lahat, pagdating sa practice, after ng game, Monday, wala kaming masabi until dumating ang management at sinabi na wala na tayong magagawa. We have to fight back and bounce back with what happened.
“Kita naman sa body language ng mga players, they want to win,” Austria said.
The former Adamson guard also made one of only two threes that San Miguel made in that Game 2.
The 33-year-old Trollano said he will continue to take good shots moving forward.
“Kahit mag-miss ako ng 0 out of 20, I’m still going to shoot,” said Trollano. “Whatever happens, I’m here inside, nagtiwala sa akin si coach. Kailangan kong suklian.”
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