San Miguel, TNT gun for 2-1 lead in Game 3

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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Sunday, June 25, 2017
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Who’s winning Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals tonight? San Miguel forward Gabby Espinas goes for a shot against the defense of TNT center Moala Tautuaa during Game 2 on Friday. PBA
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MANILA – San Miguel Beermen and TNT Katropa will be gunning for a 2-1 lead in Game 3 of the 2017 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals tonight at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Game time is 6:30 p.m.

Another tight and physical battle is expected between the two teams vying to get to two wins closer to bagging the championship.

Despite a poor game from reinforcement Charles Rhodes, San Miguel was able to level the series 1-1 after routing TNT 102-88 in Game 2 on Friday night.

“We’re happy we won despite a bad start,” said Beermen head coach Leo Austria. “We thought it was going to be 0-2, but they (local players) showed they really wanted to win the game.”

Carrying the cudgels for San Miguel in the match were June Mar Fajardo (22 points and 11 rebounds), Chris Ross (20 points), Arwind Santos (16 points), and Alex Cabagnot (13 points).

Meanwhile, TNT head coach Nash Racela said they will not have much adjustment in their plays and will instead focus on improving the players’ mental toughness.

“I think we lost our focus and composure, especially in the second quarter,” Racela said. “Well, this is the PBA. The team that loses composure normally is the team that loses. You have to learn how to take the punches.”

“I think we need to control our emotions more because things will not change,” he added. “More than the improved defense of San Miguel, one of the reasons for our defeat in Game 2 is our loss of focus.”

This marks the first time Beermen and Katropa are facing each other in a championship series since the 2011 PBA Governor’s Cup, where San Miguel (then Petron Blaze Boosters) defeated TNT in seven games to deny the latter a Grand Slam feat./PN

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