THE PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup finals resumes at the Mall of Asia Arena after an exciting finish to Game 3, with San Miguel coming out victorious in the epic finish thanks to Cjay Perez.
Here is a preview of Game 4, and a couple of things that SMB and TNT must address or continue to do in order to win.
SAN MIGUEL VS. TNT
When: Wednesday, January 28. 7:30 p.m.
Where: SM Mall of Asia Arena
San Miguel seeks commanding lead
San Miguel vies for a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven finals series against TNT, an advantage that would be quite insurmountable, considering the depth that the Beermen boast of.
SMB is coming off a memorable 95-89 win over the Tropang 5G where Perez rescued them with a late barrage of seven straight points to steal the victory.
TNT must not fall behind early
In TNT’s two losses in this series, the Tropang 5G started out flat to be forced to mount a huge comeback in the end. They only shot 38-percent in the first that led to the Tropang 5G trailing, 33-19, at the end of the period. It was only later when TNT got its rhythm going on offense, but it was a tad late.
Solid contributions from Mo
Most of the limelight for San Miguel in this series is on June Mar Fajardo, Don Trollano, and Perez, but Mo Tautuaa has been steady in this finals.
Tautuaa is actually the second leading scorer for the Beermen in the title seriess, averaging 16.7 points, while also contributing 4.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in three games. TNT must also slow down Tautuaa to have a chance.
Pogoy returns in Game 3
After dealing with a hamstring injury, RR Pogoy returned to the court in Game 3 where he played for 17 minutes. He only scored four points after shooting 2-of-7 from the field.
With a two-day respite to the series, Pogoy got an opportunity to rest his hamstring a bit more, and is expected to be even readier come Game 4.
Kelly, Jio non-factor in Game 3
After making their presence in the first two games of the series, Kelly Williams and Jio Jalalon were inexplicably non-factors in Game 3. Williams missed all of his five attempts from the field and two from the foul line in 19 minutes of action, while Jalalon only played for three minutes after committing two turnovers. TNT needs them again for the all-important Game 4.
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