TNT and San Miguel resume hostilities in the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup Finals, with both squads eyeing the lead in Game 3 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Here are some keys to Friday night’s game.
TNT VS. SAN MIGUEL
When: Friday, July 18. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
Who will take 2-1 lead in the series?
The series is even at 1-1 after San Miguel captured Game 2, 98-92. The Beermen will be out to ride the momentum and win back-to-back games following a controversial Game 1, while the Tropang 5G will be aiming to regain control of the finals on Friday night.
Poy Erram doubtful for Game 3
TNT will likely miss one of their key players on Friday in Poy Erram after suffering an ankle sprain in Game 2. Things looked bad for Erram as he walk on his own to the dugout and even on his way out of the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. TNT has been hounded with injuries, and it came at a bad time with the Tropang 5G dealing with June Mar Fajardo in the paint. In Game 2, San Miguel outscored TNT on points in the paint, 64-9, so the absence of Erram could be a huge one for TNT’s chances of taking Friday’s game.
TNT continues to be hounded by turnovers
Errors have been an issue for TNT since the semifinals, and it continued to haunt them in Game 2 when they committed 17, two more than they got in Game 1. Chris Ross got TNT into a maze of errors after he tallied four steals in the contest. San Miguel manufactured 24 points off those TNT turnovers last Wednesday.
SMB continues to misfire from threes
As good as San Miguel was inside the paint last Wednesday, the Beermen were firing blanks from the outside by going 2-of-10 from threes in Game 2. Only Don Trollano and Mo Tautuaa made threes in the contest. Their resident shotmaker Marcio Lassiter was held to only one attempt from threes in 16 minutes of action. If SMB’s outside shooting clicks to complement with their inside game, that could spell trouble for TNT.
Shooting struggles for CJ and RR
CJ Perez misfired in Game 2 when he went 4-of-15 from the field, scoring only eight points, although he grabbed nine rebounds. Good thing for SMB was Don Trollano took over with 22 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
On the other side, RR Pogoy, after scoring a team-high 23 points in Game 1, only had six points in Game 2 while shooting 1-of-9 from the field. Pogoy was 1-of-6 from threes as well last Friday.
How they bounce back for Game 3 could be a factor on who wins on Friday.
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