Best Player: June Mar Fajardo with 32 points and 14 rebounds #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)
The San Miguel Beermen still have their sights on a possible fifth Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup championship title after overcoming the TNT KaTropa for Wednesday, April 10’s do-or-die game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum,
Big man June Mar Fajardo lives up to his most recent Most Valuable Player (MVP) title as he bagged 32 points and 14 rebounds for the Beermen, coming back from a forehead and knee injury that he acquired in Game Two. He also shot a perfect 11-of-11 from the field. Christian Standhardinger and Terrence Romeo also delivered with 17 points and 11 points respectively; the former Far Eastern University (FEU) star firing back at the team that traded him out of their lineup during the offseason.
For TNT, it was RR Pogoy who claimed the highest points at 16, while Yousef Taha had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Despite their successful shooting, San Miguel coach Leo Austria believes that it was their defense that won them the game, as they limited the KaTropa only 36 percent from the field. In his words, “We are motivated. That’s it,” adding, “[My players] knew what to do. You could see it in their faces, their eyes that they wanted to win.” He explained, “This is one of the few times we had a good start. That’s one thing we’ve been telling the team—that whenever we have a good start, everything will be fine, we sail smoothly going into the fourth quarter.”
Now, the Beermen are anticipating a best-of-seven series against the No.1 team of the season, the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters. In anticipating their opponents, Coach Leo shared, “Phoenix is not No. 1 for nothing. They really are contenders. I just hope that whatever motivations we’ve had today, we’re able to carry over into that game.”