SAN MIGUEL Beer aims for a decisive third win against TNT in Game Four of their Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen showed championship composure in their 109-97 Game Three victory last Sunday that gave them a 2-1 lead in the series.
“We just kept our intensity high. We have to focus on our goal because we are really trying hard to win the series,” said San Miguel Head Coach Leo Austria as his wards play the TNT side at 7 p.m. in Game Four.
The fierce exchange on the court was laced with trash-talking and near bench-clearing, thus bringing up the heat between the two heavyweights from opposing franchise giants.
Keeping his character implanted on the ground, the third-year San Miguel coach played down the confrontations.
“If there is a corporate rivalry, it doesn’t matter. We are professionals. We have to do our game plan. The important thing is that there are a lot of people behind them, and I know the team will play on a high level again,” Austria said.
Alex Cabagnot proved that he is a legitimate contender for the Best Player of the Conference award and topscored with his 28 points on top of nine rebounds and six assists in Game Three. Import Charles Rhodes added a monstrous effort of 25 points and 20 boards.
Chris Ross, Cabagnot’s closest rival in the BPC race, had an efficient 17 points, five assists and four steals.
The two prolific guards, one of the deadliest pairs in the league, scored 19 of their team’s last 21 points midway the final period with Cabagnot firing 10 and Ross contributing nine.
Those impressive numbers, plus the unlikely miscues from a powerhouse team like KaTropa, sealed the win for the Beermen.
TNT had 23 turnovers in Game Three, 10 surprisingly from Jayson Castro.
“We must identify the problem with our turnovers. It hurt us,” TNT coach Nash Racela said.
San Miguel, which ahd 12 turnovers, converted 26 points from the TNT miscues.
RR Garcia and import Joshua Smith had 19 and 18 points, respectively, for the KaTropa.
Missing in action was Roger Pogoy. After a career-night in Game One with 27 points, the Gilas Pilipinas stalwart went scoreless in the next two games.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza