ANTIPOLO – Don Trollano was quick to take full responsibility for San Miguel’s loss to NLEX to open its PBA Philippine Cup title defense on Wednesday.
Trollano had a chance to win it for the Beermen, but committed a late turnover that doomed the defending champions, 85-84, at the Ynares Center.
The 33-year-old guard out of Adamson scored 11 of his 17 points in the final quarter as he spearheaded a late San Miguel rally, which unfortunately fell short after he threw an errant pass instead of going for a potential game-winner.
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“That’s on me. My mistake,” said Trollano as he headed out of the San Miguel locker room. “Hindi ko lang masyadong na-calculate yung oras. Turnover. I take full responsibility.”
Just a few seconds before the blunder, Trollano had the Beermen closing in on the Road Warriors as his four-pointer with 11 seconds to go cut the deficit to within 85-84.
JB Bahio then missed two pressure-packed free throws, leaving the door open for the Beermen to go for a winning basket.
Trollano said the final play wasn’t designed for him.
“Basta kung sino lang yung open,” he said. “Na-rebound namin tapos scramble sa defense. Yun lang. Walang specific kung sino ang titira. Kung sino lang yung open.”
He was actually open, but hesitated to take the shot and decided to pass the ball at the last second, resulting in a turnover.
“Kaya nga, hindi ko tinira,” said Trollano. “Mistake ko yun. Bawi na lang next time. Matututo naman ako.”
“Hero na sana. Naging sleepless night pa tuloy,” he added. “Bawi na lang kami. We learn from our mistakes. I learn from my mistakes. So next time, hindi na siguro mangyayari.”
Incidentally, the win over San Miguel was the first for NLEX in five years in the Philippine Cup, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, or since a 124-90 blowout during the Clark bubble in Pampanga.
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