By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
THE best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series between the San Miguel Beermen and TnT Tropang Giga hits the pivotal Game Five on Wednesday where they look to go one up over the other and move on the cusp of making it to the finals.
Knotted at 2-2, the San Miguel-TnT series has been back-and-forth with the teams making strong cases for themselves not only as a finalist, but also a champion in the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tournament.
San Miguel leveled the series with a dominant 26-point win in Game Four, 116-90, on Sunday. It was a bounce back for the Beermen who were on the receiving end of a drubbing from TnT in Game Three.
Beermen coach Leo Austria expressed hope that their victory last time around would be a turning point for them.
He highlighted that while they are competing in the series, they are still struggling in some facets of their game, something they hope to address for the remainder of the series and use it as a springboard to get back to the finals of the All-Filipino conference.
“We wanted to have a strong start. In the first three games, we played catch-up throughout and we did not want that to happen in this game,” said Mr. Austria in the press conference following Game Four, describing the mindset they had entering the contest.
Adding, “We also worked on our defense. It was important for us to limit the offense of TnT to give us a better chance of winning.”
But the San Miguel coach was quick to point out that they should not celebrate much as there are still games left to be won and that the Tropang Giga are only expected to come back stronger and more determined.
And comeback is what TnT is angling to do, this notwithstanding the status of big man JP Erram for the rest of the series still being uncertain after suffering what reportedly was a fractured cheekbone in Game Four.
After colliding with San Miguel’s Mo Tautuaa in the second quarter, Mr. Erram dropped to the floor and hit his face. Making matters worse, Mr. Tautuaa landed on his head after, pinning him further.
He was helped on his feet and later brought to a medical facility for further tests.
With or without their big man, the Tropang Giga are out to have a better showing than in their last game, particularly gunner Roger Pogoy, who only had two points on a measly 1-of-10 shooting in Game Four.
Mr. Pogoy said he was disappointed and “embarrassed” in his performance and hopes to redeem himself.
A possible welcome news for TnT is the return of veteran Kelly Williams, who has yet to play in the semifinals after entering the league’s health and safety protocols.
TnT coach Chot Reyes said they are expecting the former PBA most valuable player Mr. Williams by Game Five and after.
Game Five of the San Miguel-TNT series is set for 6 p.m. at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Preceeding the match at 3 p.m. is the Game Five semifinal showdown between the Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots and Meralco Bolts.
The Hotshots lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1, and are going for the jugular.
Meanwhile, Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang was named PBA player of week for the period of Oct. 4 to 11.
The versatile big man posted a near double-double average of 16 points and 9.3 rebounds in three games in said stretch where they moved to a 3-1 series advantage over Meralco in their semifinal joust.
It was the second player of the week citation for 29-year-old Mr. Sangalang.
Mr. Sangalang beat out teammates Paul Lee and Calvin Abueva as well as Terrence Romeo, Mr. Tautuaa, and June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel for the weekly award given by media covering the PBA beat.