MANILA, Philippines – For the TNT KaTropa, beating the San Miguel Beermen in Game 2 of the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals meant more than just a win.
For them, the 93-88 win on Monday, April 8, proved that the reigning four-time All-Filipino champions are actually beatable in the playoffs despite having the most star-studded roster in the league.
“Sa totoo lang nagpataas ‘to ng kumpiyansa sa’min kasi alam na namin na kaya namin sila talunin, pwede sila matalo,” said RR Pogoy after a team-best 20-point performance. “Sana sa Game 3 ganoon pa rin.”
(Honestly, this boosted our confidence because we know we can beat them. They’re beatable. Hopefully, that’ll stay the same for Game 3.)
“Malaking [tulong] kasi ‘yun nga, at least alam naming kaya naming manalo sa kanila,” echoed veteran point guard Jayson Castro, who bounced back with 19 points and a team-high 9 assists off the bench.
(It’s a big help because at least we know we can win against them.)
“Alam naman natin yung San Miguel, napakalakas na team, ‘di ba? Kami, ‘yun lang ‘yung motivation namin, makapasok kami ng semis.”
(We all know San Miguel is a very strong team, right? For us, that’s our motivation, to enter the semis.)
Although TNT held Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos to just 5 points apiece, they still failed to contain reigning five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, who led the Beermen with 26 points and 19 rebounds despite sustaining minor head and knee injuries.
For the KaTropa, that will be their main focus heading to Game 3 on Wednesday, April 10, at the Araneta Coliseum.
“Kung pano i-stop si June Mar,” Castro said when asked about their adjustments for Game 3.
“Siguro kung pano sila i-stop. Kasi ‘yun ‘yung number one focus naman namin ngayon, ‘yung defense namin. On offense naman kahit sino sa’min kayang umiskor naman at may confidence naman silang lahat.”
(How to stop June Mar and the rest. That’s our number one focus right now, our defense. Any one of us can score on offense and we all have confidence.)
“Sobrang hirap talaga. Sobrang hirap. Kasi alam mo naman lahat sila ang gagaling eh. Sobrang hirap talunin, may June Mar ka pa na kailangan i-double,” Pogoy shared.
“Pero sabi nga ni coach, as long as mag-stick lang tayo sa game plan, kahit anong mangyari, [okay tayo].”
(It’s really difficult because you know they’re all good and very hard to beat. Then they have June Mar who demands double teams. But as coach said, as long as we stick to the game plan, we’ll be okay no matter what happens.) – Rappler.com
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