JUNE Mar Fajardo admitted San Miguel didn’t play with urgency when it tried to close out the PBA Philippine Cup Finals in Game 5 against TNT on Wednesday night.
The eight-time MVP and 12-time Best Player of the Conference said the Beermen’s slow start allowed the Tropang 5G to set the tone for Game 5 on the way to an 86-78 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The win cut San Miguel’s series lead at 3-2 heading to Game 6 on Friday.
READ TNT stands defiant, mauls SMB to extend PBA Finals to a Game Six
“Flat start kami and andami naming lapses,” said Fajardo of the way the Beermen played.
“Baka nga ganun yun,” he added when asked if he thought the Beermen relaxed heading to the game after holding a 3-1 series lead. “Kasi sobrang flat yung start namin.”
Fajardo was held to a 13-point, 13-rebound night and added three assists, two steals, and two shotblocks without a single turnover.
But the top-seeded team only held the lead early in the first quarter, before playing catch up the rest of the way after trailing by as many as 77-59.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo said San Miguel can’t afford to have that slow start especially against a team as experienced as TNT.
“Hindi naman basta-basta mo babalewalain yung TNT kasi champion team yun, back-to-back champion sila. Kailangan ilabas namin yung 100 percent namin,” he said.
Good thing, the Beermen still have two chances of foiling the Tropang 5G’s bid for a first ever grand slam in franchise history.
“Tapos na yung game na yan. Back na yung focus namin sa next game,” said Fajardo.
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