TNT guns for the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup crown on Friday night as it tries to finish off San Miguel in Game Six at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
San Miguel vs TNT Game 6 preview
The Tropang Giga play the first of two chances against the Beermen to capture their second straight Philippine Cup crown in the match that will start at 5:45 p.m.
TNT gained a 3-2 edge in the finals series against San Miguel on Wednesday with a 102-93 win with Mikey Williams and Kelly Williams showing the way in the Game Five victory.
Head coach Chot Reyes knows too well, however, that winning a closed-out game is the most difficult in a championship series.
“I always said it, the hardest game to win is the last, the fourth game,” said Reyes. “We have no illusions about it. It’s going to be a huge, difficult war. We just have to be prepared. All we can do is prepare ourselves. That’s all we can do, to control the things we can control, and just be ready for Friday.”
Reyes will be going for his 10th PBA crown, and his seventh All-Filipino/Philippine Cup crown.
Focus, though, will be on the condition of Jayson Castro for Game Six.
The TNT guard suffered an ankle sprain in his right foot in the third quarter of Game Five and didn’t return. He remains under observation by TNT’s medical team on the eve of the pivotal match.
Facing elimination for the first time this conference, San Miguel, which entered the playoff round as the top seed with a 9-2 win-loss record, hopes to turn things around on Friday and force a Game Seven.
One thing that San Miguel sorely missed in Game Five was its three-point shooting as the Beermen only converted four shots, in contrast to TNT which drained 13. The trio of CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter, and Jericho Cruz combined for 0-of-9 from threes.