Support cast finally delivers for Beermen
For San Miguel Beer to maintain its status as among the main contenders of the PBA Philippine Cup, its second unit may need to play a more crucial role to help the top guys led by June Mar Fajardo.
That’s what occurred on Sunday night in the Beermen’s 111-92 rout of the Phoenix Fuel Masters at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, with Don Trollano typifying the bench’s important part in improving to 4-2 in the all-Filipino tournament.
“We want our bench to be consistent, which has been the case in all of our victories,” coach Leo Austria said after getting 21 points from Trollano.
Trollano atoned for a scoreless showing the previous Sunday when San Miguel fell victim to previously-winless TNT. In that 89-84 defeat, the Beermen couldn’t get much from their reserves.
Austria hopes to keep it that way, even if the next two games will be against teams sitting at the bottom of the standings.
Next for San Miguel is Terrafirma in Montalban, Rizal on May 18 in what is perceived as a lopsided affair as the Dyip have dropped their last five by an average margin of 30 points.
Following Terrafirma is Blackwater on May 25 at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, with the Bossing currently at 1-4.
“Any team can beat us if we don’t perform well,” said Austria.
Of course, the win couldn’t be done without Fajardo and CJ Perez being major contributors in taking San Miguel to third spot.
Dynamic duo
Perez scored 26 points while Fajardo had 20 points and 12 rebounds as they reprised their roles as the top players of the Beermen.
Phoenix dropped to 2-4 after it folded in the second quarter when Trollano scored 10 in that juncture.
Rookie Kai Ballungay had 23 points for the Fuel Masters, their position after Sunday will depend on the result of the nightcap between TNT and Meralco, being played at press time.
San Miguel created separation from Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra, which now have identical 3-2 slates with the former after an 85-66 win over Converge last Saturday in San Fernando, Pampanga.
