MANILA, Philippines – TNT may have been booted out of the quarterfinals for the second conference in a row by the San Miguel Beermen, but KaTropa head coach said he likes the way they lost.

The 3rd seed KaTropa failed to reach the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup for the first time since 2016 as the Beermen swept their best-of-3 quarterfinals duel with a 106-102 Game 2 win on Wednesday, July 11. 

“I like how we lost today. I really felt, the team did their part effort-wise and they were just following the plan,” Racela told reporters after the game. “It’s nice that today, they allowed us to play.” 

TNT was expected to file a protest in its 121-101 Game 1 loss – a contest that saw the KaTropa shoot 18 free throws to the Beermen’s 40 – but pulled the plug. 

In the tightly contested Game 2, the free throw difference was closer – with TNT shooting 21 foul shots to San Miguel’s 30. For context, the Beermen shot 8 freebies in the final 45 seconds as the KaTropa tried to mount a comeback. 

“Every time they call it that way, I think we have a chance. All we ask for really is a fair chance. Today, we got that. So it’s a lot easier to accept defeat,” Racela said. 

“We got a fair chance, we did our part, they did their part. In the end, it was just them executing better in the end.”

Racela added that they were just unfortunate to face San Miguel, the winner of 6 of the last 10 PBA championships, as early as the quarterfinals. 

“For the last two conferences, we met them early. I think that made it tough, because we had to face San Miguel right away. But again, just looking at that game, if we get that chance – that fair chance – every game, then it’s nice.” 

The KaTropa will take a break before heading back into training for the Governors’ Cup. – Rappler.com