There’s no denying that the San Miguel Beermen played what mostly amounts to a complete game on Friday night to pull out a 111-92 rout of the TNT Tropang 5G in Game 2 of their PBA Philippine Cup Finals rematch.
Asked about San Miguel’s mighty bounce-back, Leo Austria lauded his team’s energy, focus, and intensity. He also praised the Beermen’s ferocity on the boards as they outrebounded TNT, 50-35, leading to 19 second-chance points as against the Tropa’s 2 in that category. He then tipped his hat off to his bench mob, which fired 46 points and helped San Miguel to a hot start in the first half.
San Miguel’s Talent Prevailed
As Austria outlined all the positive things his Beermen showed in Game 2, he also acknowledged—albeit in passing—one key aspect where San Miguel might have a distinct advantage over TNT and any other team, for that matter: talent.
“The biggest impact tonight is our defense. We have a lot of energy and focus sa game, because sa last game, we [didn’t have] that kind of focus and energy. And makikita mo ‘yung intensity ng players,” Austria told reporters after Game 2. “We’re able to match the energy of our opponent and ayun, talent nag-prevail. At the same time, ‘yung laging binabanggit namin ay ‘yung bench namin, and they contributed heavily unlike last game.”
Indeed, Game 2 was a showcase of talent for San Miguel. June Mar Fajardo dropped a rather quiet 17-point, 16-rebound outing, in part because he didn’t have to do any heavy lifting, as five other Beermen scored in double figures, with a sixth—Juami Tiongson—adding 9 more. Don Trollano led the way with his game-high 22 points, followed by 14 from Mo Tautuaa, 13 from CJay Perez, and 12 apiece from Marcio Lassiter and Jericho Cruz.
Then again, TNT is a talented team, too, and it will try to match San Miguel’s energy and intensity in Game 3. Tipoff will be on Sunday, 7:30 p.m., at the Mall of Asia Arena.
