TNT wary of San Miguel Beer comeback, aims to close semis series in Game 6

If there's a team who could storm back from any deficit, it's the San Miguel Beermen.

TNT is now holding a 3-2 lead in their semifinal series against SMB, but veteran playmaker Jayson Castro remains wary of the Beermen, who have been known for their ability to turn the tides.

Castro said that Tropang Giga need to match or surpass what they displayed in the previous game in order to show San Miguel the door.

"We all know that SMB is a really tough team and their experience is also there," Castro, who was crucial in TNT's 110-90 Game 5 win on Wednesday, said in Filipino.

"I think we should double up our effort from the previous game. It's good that we were able to win today in Game 5 but we should not be satisfied with it and we should come out better come Game 6," he added.

SMB has a good track record of erasing deficits, including the team's Game 2 comeback when Marcio Lassiter scored the game-winning layup en route to a 98-96 victory.

During that match, TNT built a lead as big as 19 points but Beermen wiped that out and stole the victory.

Prior to that, Lassiter also drained a buzzer-beater triple that sent Alaska out of playoff contention with SMB coming away with a 101-100 win.

Alex Cabagnot, who was coming off a knee injury, also knocked down a game-winning basket en route to SMB's 88-87 win over NorthPort in their quarterfinals match.

And of course, who can forget San Miguel's miraculous comeback from a 3-0 hole against Alaska in 2016?

TNT head coach Chot Reyes echoed Castro's sentiment and said keeping on par with SMB's energy come Game 6 will play a key role as they eye to conclude the series and book a finals ticket.

"Again, I sound like a broken record but if we're not able to match the effort of San Miguel, then we will see another blowout game like the Game 4," the decorated mentor said. "Our focus has really been to get our effort and energy back."

Castro, who poured in 19 points and eight assists in Game 5, said that confidence against a more experienced SMB side will also be a huge factor for Game 6 slated for Friday.

"We just need to have the confidence on making our shots because we already know that we can win as long as we execute the game plan," he said.

—MGP, GMA News