YOU know it’s the PBA Finals when a mild-mannered playmaker shows his 'rough' edges.
Juami Tiongson wore his heart on his sleeve in Game Four of the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup Finals when he got into a heated exchange with rival playmaker Almond Vosotros and some TNT fans who were heckling him.
Entangled with Vosotros in a rebounding battle late in the first quarter, Tiongson pushed off the TNT reserve point guard and was called for a foul, but continued the commotion with some sharp words for Vosotros.
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The 34-year-old Tiongson later played down the exchange early in a game that saw the Beermen roll to a 105-91 win to take a 3-1 lead.
“Wala naman yun. Friendly competition, I guess, kasi kaibigan ko naman si Almond.”
“Inunahan niya kasi ako, kaya bumawi lang ako,” he was quick to add with a smile.
Tiongson also engaged TNT fans who were shouting at him, “Ang yabang mo na.”
After hitting his first three-point attempt of the game, Tiongson looked at the TNT crowd with a “keep quiet” finger gesture.
“Oo, naririnig ko (yung TNT fans), pero it’s all part of the game. I think yun yung nagpapaganda sa laro naman natin – yun kantyawan. Pero after the game, it’s all in the past.”
Tiongson snaps out of slump
Tiongson was just eager to bounce back from his Finals slump. The 2024 Mythical Second team member averaged just 2.7 points on 3-of-11 shooting in the first three games of the title series, the last a scoreless outing in 12 minutes.
This time, he scored eight points all in the first half, including six in the first quarter – on two treys, in less than 18 minutes off the bench.
Tiongson formed part of SMB’s bench mob led by Jericho Cruz that posted a telling 53-18 edge over the Tropang 5G in bench points.
“It’s more of I just wanted to be aggressive today, kasi the last three games, medyo off ako. I couldn’t find my rhythm, so it’s nice lang to make my first shot. ”
The Beermen hope for more of the same in Game Five on Wednesday at the Big Dome as they try to finish off the Tropang 5G.
“We take it one game at a time, still. Three-one, pero we know na capable ang TNT, knowing their personnel. We want to make sure we end it on Wednesday, hopefully,” Tiongson said.
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