SAN Miguel Beer Head Coach Leo Austria does not want his players to feel complacent despite holding a 2-0 edge in their best-of-seven semifinal series against Talk ‘N Text.
“Kapag sugatan ang isang hayop, babalik at babalik ’yan,” Austria warned, as his Beermen try to move closer for a finals berth of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
“Nothing’s sure as of now. We have to continue playing the way we played the first two games,” Austria added.
Game Three is set at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena, as the Beermen shoot for a commanding 3-0 lead against the wounded Tropang Texters.
After its dominating 109-86 win in Game One, San Miguel had to rely on June Mar Fajardo’s steady free-throw shooting to come away with a hard-earned 87-80 win in Game Two to move two wins away of returning to the finals.
Austria admitted that Talk ‘N Text played with more intensity compared to the series opener and they expect the Tropang Texters to double their efforts as they can’t afford to go 0-3 down in the series.
Talk ‘N Text Head Coach Jong Uichico lauded his team’s effort in Game Two and criticized the game officials for some missed calls, especially at the crucial stretch of the game.
“Every game is a must-win in a best-of-seven semifinal series. Game One is a must-win, Game Two is a must-win. Game Three is a must-win. Let’s just hope that the referees do a better job,” Uichico said.
“We played a lot better that we did the last game. We defended pretty well, but they’re a good defensive team also. We just didn’t score enough points,” Uichico added.
Talk ‘N Text’s defense on San Miguel center June Mar Fajardo was outstanding, as it held the reigning Most Valuable Player to just two-of-11 the entire game.
But Fajardo did most of his damage in the free-throw line, where he sank all of his eight attempts to help the Beermen erect a 2-0 lead in the series.
“They tripled team June Mar kaya he [Fajardo] committed a lot of turnovers,” said Austria, who is expected to make adjustments on Fajardo’s plays in Game Three.
Alex Cabagnot and Chris Lutz also played big in Game Two for the Beermen, contributing 21 and 14 markers, respectively.
Jayson Castro played better offensively for the Tropang Texters in Game Two with 26 points, while Anthony Washington supported him with a 17-point output.
Uichico needs the veterans, particularly Jimmy Alapag and Larry Fonacier, to come out with better offensive games to avoid falling to a 0-3 hole.
Image credits: Kevin Dela Cruz