DON Trollano quickly made his mark with his new team, helping San Miguel post a 95-82 win over reigning champion Barangay Ginebra on Friday night in the PBA 48th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Trollano led San Miguel in a big second quarter that staked the Beermen to a double-digit lead, scoring 12 of his 16 points in that stretch as he helped his new ballclub arrest a two-game losing skid.
Trollano’s performance was later preserved by his former Adamson teammate Jericho Cruz and Chris Ross, who hit clutch baskets to douse a last-ditch effort by Ginebra's second stringers to overturn what once stood as a 24-point deficit.
The win came just days after San Miguel acquired Trollano in a trade with NorthPort, which just a day earlier got the do-it-all forward in a trade with NLEX. The deal readily paid dividends as the Beermen improved to 4-3 (win-loss).
Ginebra finally got its rhythm in the fourth and came to within 79-75, but sputtered in the end to fall to its second straight defeat and a 4-3 record, joining San Miguel and TNT at fifth place in the standings.
Ross topscored for the Beermen with 22 points while Cruz added 16.
San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent hailed Ross for steadying the SMB ship in the face of a Ginebra comeback.
“Ginebra will always make a run. We just have to stay poised and composed, and as a point guard, he did a great job. I’m very happy that he led his team and made his teammates better,” said Gallent.
Tony Bishop had 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight steals for the Gin Kings, who trailed 67-43 at the half. He joined hands with Ginebra's second unit in the late comeback, with Von Pessumal scoring all his 11 points in the fourth quarter.
The scores:
San Miguel 95 – Ross 22, Trollano 16, Cruz 16, Perez 13, Aska 10, Romeo 9, Tautuaa 6, Lassiter 3, Brondial 0.
Barangay Ginebra 82 – Bishop 20, Ahanmisi 13, Malonzo 11, Pessumal 11, Pringle 10, J. Aguilar 6, Standhardinger 4, Tenorio 3, Onwubere 3, Cu 1, Gumaru 0.
Quarters: 24-22; 56-36; 73-52; 95-82.
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