THERE were no controversies to end Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals but nonetheless it was another exciting game as San Miguel came away with a 98-92 win over TNT to even their best-of-seven championship affair at one apiece.
Behind Don Trollano on offense and Chris Ross’ pressure on defense, the Beermen survived a huge Tropang 5G third quarter to avoid going down an 0-2 hole against the grand slam-seeking TNT.
READ: Trollano catches fire as San Miguel gets back at TNT in Game Two
Before we head to the critical Game 3 on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, let’s take a look at some of the takeaways we had in the Beermen’s equalizing win over the Tropang 5G.
SAME OLD PROBLEMS FOR TNT
TNT head coach Chot Reyes rued his squad’s inability to take care of the ball particularly in the fourth quarter of Game 1 as their turnovers allowed San Miguel to creep back in before that controversial call late gave them a break.
There were no breaks for them in Game 2 to cling onto.
Even with the roles reversed on Friday, with TNT the one doing catch-up to San Miguel, the fourth quarter turned out to be the same story with just a different ending as the Tropang 5G once again allowed Chris Ross to wreak havoc on defense – throwing the ball over five times in that period.
After giving away 22 points on the 15 turnovers they had in Game 1, TNT did far worse in Game 2 – throwing the ball away 17 times which resulted in 24 points for San Miguel.
SMB BIGS GET BETTER OF TNT COUNTERPARTS
June Mar Fajardo will always be a given, as the only thing TNT can hope to do is to limit him and make life difficult for him.
But when Mo Tautuaa and Rodney Brondial are also getting their numbers, then that’s a problem for TNT.
With the frustration of the controversial Game 1 behind him now, Tautuaa finished with 16 points as a starter for coach Leo Austria while Brondial brought the energy off the bench to finish with six points while giving Fajardo and Tautuaa some much-needed breather.
Yet to truly explode like he did in the Rain or Shine series is big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser. Aside from his back-to-back threes early in the third, he was basically quiet the entire night as he was saddled with fouls though he did make an impact on the defensive end with five blocks.
With the uncertainty on Poy Erram’s future in this series, and Kelly Williams already having the unenviable task of slowing down Fajardo, BGR has to play better.
INVALUABLE DON
Don Trollano took the headlines in Game 2 after posting 13 of his 22 points in the payoff period to tow San Miguel to the victory, but that’s just one of the many things that he can provide for San Miguel.
Ask the Adamson product to lock up the opposing wing? He will do it with pride.
Make him stand in the corner and be San Miguel’s designated sniper? He’ll do it well.
And on a night when CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz combined to shoot 5-for-25 from the field, Trollano took it upon himself to take over – having answers to every TNT rally by scoring nine points in the final six minutes and thirty seconds of the game to fend off TNT.
As a whole, Trollano made 10 of his 16 shots to go along six rebounds in 31 minutes of action.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
