San Miguel beats TNT to even PBA Philippine Cup finals series, 1-1

San Miguel took down TNT, 98-92, on Wednesday in the Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to even the series, 1-1.

In an attempt to bounce back after a frustrating Game 1 loss, the Beermen started strong and had its biggest lead 51-38 before a split from Jordan Heading ended the first half ended, still in San Miguel's favor.

The Tropang 5G, however, attempted to take over in the third period but it was not enough, especially with Poy Erram being brought out of the court in the said frame due to an injury after a bad landing. San Miguel still held on, 75-74, by the end of the third period.

Don Trollano then caught fire in the fourth period as he made 12 out of his 22 points in the said period alone. He had a 5-out-of-8 clipping from the field in the final frame to lead the Beermen to the Game 2 victory.

After leading 85-80 with 7:48 remaining, Trollano scored back-to-back to widen the Beermen's margin before free throws from Kelly Williams stopped the bleeding for the Tropang 5G. Trollano then sandwiched William's baskets with a triple and a layup to hand San Miguel a 10-point advantage before Williams' freebies again put a halt on the streaking Trollano. 

Calvin Oftana, who had 23 points in the game, also did not score in the fourth quarter which helped in the Beermen's cause.

"We'd been in this adversity (Game 1 loss) and we know what to do," San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said.

"Plus the support of management, especially Coach Al [Chua], he was there during practice to motivate us and it's a good support from the management. Alam nila na kaya pa namin manalo and pinatunayan namin ngayon."

Trollano's 22 points was a team-high for the Beermen, while June Mar Fajardo was a rebound shy of a double-double with 17 points, nine boards, three assists, and one steal. Mo Tautuaa, who also bounced back from what happened in Game 1, had 16 points, while Jeron Teng had 10. points.

Oftana's game-high output was spoiled in the loss, while Heading, Williams, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had 15, 11, and 10 points, respectively.

Game 3 of the finals will be played on Friday.

Scores:

San Miguel 98 – Trollano 22, Fajardo 17, Tautuaa 16, Teng 10, Perez 8, Ross 7, Cruz 6, Brondial 6, Tiongson 4, Lassiter 2.

TNT 92 – Oftana 23, Heading 15, Williams 11, Ganuelas-Rosser 10, Enciso 7, Erram 6, Pogoy 6, Khobuntin 6, Aurin 4, Heruela 4, Galinato 0, Varilla 0, Nieto 0.

Quarters: 23-19, 51-39, 75-74, 98-92.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News