REALLY BIG NIGHT
San Miguel Beer veteran Chris Ross has been in situations like this before and knows that there’s no reason to gloat—especially against Tim Cone and Barangay Ginebra.
“We just have to know that we haven’t won anything yet,” Ross said after a 91-85 victory on Friday gave the Beermen a 2-1 lead over the Gin Kings in their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series. “We only got two (wins) in, we need two more to advance, so the job’s not done.”
The Cone factor is also big in his mind.
“Ginebra’s going to come back and coach Tim (Cone) will motivate his guys,” Ross explained. “I’ve been in the locker room with him and I know what kind of motivator he is. He’s going to have those guys ready.”
Ross and the Beermen can breathe a little easier with a third straight win at 5:15 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, on Sunday, even as TNT tries to bounce back from a Game 3 loss to Meralco and also take a 3-1 lead in the 7:30 p.m. contest.
San Miguel won despite a cold-shooting night from a hurt June Mar Fajardo, who finished with just six points because of a shoulder injury that has hounded him from the quarterfinals.
San Miguel needed Don Trollano and CJ Perez to step up as the duo finished with 33 and 19 points, respectively, to start another winning streak since that Game 1 loss that snapped a 10-game winning run.
The other semis
Meanwhile, on the other side of the semifinals, Meralco finally broke through and won one over TNT, 97-89, without the services of team consultant Nenad Vucinic.
“He would want to be here, but it’s his daughter’s wedding,” coach Luigi Trillo said. “But he’s been in touch with us. We want to do our role that when he comes back here, it’s 2-2 and that’s the goal.
“Of course, that’s easier said than done. We know TNT will be ready when he for sure comes back on Game 5.”
Chris Banchero formed a three-sided battering ram for the Bolts in Game 3 together with CJ Cansino and Chris Newsome as they finished with a combined 53 points.
The Meralco defense was a big help as it limited Calvin Oftana and Jordan Heading to harmless numbers that got the Bolts, the 2023 champions here, back in the series.
Even after breaking through in the series, Banchero knows Game 4 will be a chore, especially with Newsome sustaining a knee injury late in the fourth quarter of Friday.
“Sunday’s going to be a huge game, even bigger than today’s,” Banchero said. “Our team, though, for whatever reason, likes to play with our backs against the wall.
“We play well when we need to win. I expect everybody to step up to the occasion,” he added. “I’m really excited for it.”
