Refusing to quit

It would’ve been the easiest thing to do for TNT to roll over and quit with a decimated lineup facing a 1-3 deficit in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beer. But in Game 5, a potential closer, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday, the Beermen forgot to turn on the switch and left the door open for TNT to come storming back with a rage that matched the rains pelting the metropolis for days.

San Miguel never got to show the fiery form that led to three straight wins after losing Game 1. It seemed like the Beermen thought the title would be handed over on a silver platter. They played out of character, insisting on isolations against TNT’s cohesive defense, relying on individual skills instead of covering for each other. Where was San Miguel’s passing? In the first half, San Miguel had only five assists, a reason for its lowly 23.9 field goal percentage. The Beermen ended up with 11 assists and shot 32.1 percent from the floor, both lows in the Finals.

CJ Perez, the league’s leading scorer in the elims with a 23.4 clip, was held to a conference-low five points on 1-of-9 field goals. Perez is deadliest when driving to the basket, using ball screens to clear his runway but with no help from teammates, the defense can stop him in his tracks going downhill.

June Mar Fajardo, who scored 33 points in Game 3, could only deliver 13 in Game 5, clearly bothered by Kelly Williams’ physicality. He had nine offensive rebounds, four more than his average in the Finals, but struggled to get off clear shots, shooting only 46.2 percent, a far cry from his 65.4 percent in the series before Game 5. JMF could’ve used some frontcourt support down the stretch but surprisingly, Mo Tautuaa was benched the entire fourth quarter.

Was it a case of overconfidence? Maybe. But for TNT, it was all business whether San Miguel was overconfident or not. Survival was on the line and the Tropang 5G wouldn’t give up the fight to keep its Grand Slam hopes alive. TNT did what it does best, play hard-nosed, rugged defense to hold San Miguel to less than 80 points for the first time in the Finals and second in the conference. Coach Chot Reyes sent in nine players, all logging at least 10 minutes, to stretch his rotation as in another first in the series, TNT outscored San Miguel in the fourth quarter, 27-25.

Has San Miguel learned its lesson not to take TNT lightly? TNT’s roster has been ravaged by injuries but Reyes is a master at finding ways to capitalize on what the team has, not dwell on what the team lacks. Coach Leo Austria is focused not to pass up a second chance to close out because if it goes down to a Game 7, momentum will shift dramatically to favor TNT.