Among the biggest reasons the San Miguel Beermen are the yardstick in any Philippine Cup—aside from having June Mar Fajardo, obviously—is their wealth of weapons. One of these weapons is Don Trollano, whose 16.4 points per game average this conference is third-most in San Miguel behind the 19.7 markers of CJay Perez, and the 16.5 points of Fajardo.
That he comes off the bench speaks to the talent level Leo Austria has at San Miguel. The 10-time champion coach essentially has starting five talent in Trollano leading his famed bench move. Trollano is so good, in fact, that he more often than not is on the floor during crunch time in close games because of his high-level playmaking, and unmatched poise and composure.
Trollano Is Good—and He Knows It
The veteran guard, who at one time in his career also played for the TNT Tropang 5G, knows in his heart of hearts that he’s starting five-good. And that’s probably why he doesn’t mind that he comes off the bench in this loaded San Miguel squad.
“My mindset kasi is hindi ko iniisip na second unit ako. First five ako na nasa second unit,” Trollano told reporters during the PBA Philippine Cup press conference held on Monday. “My mindset is hindi ako reliever… I can be in the first group for any other team. Kaya pag pinasok ako I just do my job.”
And Trollano’s right. He’s putting up 16.4 points and 4.5 rebounds a game on 50.4% shooting overall—all in just 23.3 minutes a game. Bump those minutes up and he’ll likely give more, like he did in Game 3 versus Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the semis, where he fired a conference-high 33 markers in 32 minutes, or in Game 6, where he dropped 23 in 29 minutes.
So, best believe Trollano will be more than ready to play more against an equally deep and talented Tropa in these upcoming PBA Philippine Cup Finals. He is, after all, a starter who just happens to be coming off the bench.
