MARK Dickel only had encouraging words for Troy Rosario and Brian Heruela after the two missed crucial free throws in the first overtime that proved costly for TNT in Game Two of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
Rosario and Heruela missed two free throws in the final seconds of the first overtime, allowing San Miguel to tie the game on a last-gasp layup by Alex Cabagnot, 114-114. The Beermen went on to win, 127-125, in the second overtime.
Despite the crucial misses, Dickel hailed the effort of the two players.
“I think Troy Rosario was awesome in the second half," said the TNT coaching consultant of his starting forward, who scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter.
"We played good. We had a chance to win. We have to let it go. We have to find a way to finish the game,” added Dickel.
Dickel also had positive words for Heruela, who was unable to make two free throws that could've given the KaTropa a five-point lead with 21 seconds to go in the first overtime.
“Look, he has made free throws for us at the end of the game. It just happened that he missed them. No one feels worse than him at the end of the game. Next game, I’m sure he will knock it down,” said Dickel.
Even with the disappointing defeat, Dickel was proud to see his team come back from a 17-point deficit to make it a close game.
“Really proud of how we fought. Really proud of how we came out after halftime. I felt in the first half, we didn’t do what we want defensively. In the second half, we were really good,” said Dickel.
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