SMB, TNT aim to push PHL Cup semis opponents in deep hole

SAN MIGUEL BEER shoots for a commanding 3-1 lead against Meralco, and so does TNT Tropang Giga against Magnolia as the semifinals series heat up some more on Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Riding a 96-91 triumph in Game 3 last Sunday, the Beermen are aiming to push the Bolts to the wall in their 3 p.m. encounter, while the Tropang Giga, fired up by Jaycon Castro’s Game 3-clinching three-pointer at crunch time, want the same commanding lead when they face the Hotshots at 6 p.m.

Coach Leo Austria looks to be enjoying San Miguel Beer’s height advantage in the series with June Mar Fajardo, Moala Tautuaa and Vic Manuel combining for 40 points in Game 3.

Swingman Jericho Cruz, Austria’s ward since his Adamson University days—believes otherwise though.

“There’s no room for complacency when you are facing a team like Meralco,” Cruz told Businessmirror on Tuesday. “We won Game 1, but we lost Game 2—although we came back in Game 3,” he said. “It only shows that Meralco is really capable of beating us, so we cannot take them for granted.”

Cruz scattered 15 points in Game 3 while CJ Perez top scored for the Beermen with 26 points and tallied 21 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks.

But Meralco veteran coach Norman Black remains defiant, saying they’ll be back in Game 4.

“We didn’t have any injuries so we will be back,” Black said. “It’s not over yet. It’s just three games, it’s a bestof-seven series.”

TNT Coach Chot Reyes, meanwhile, believes Magnolia will be back with vengeance from their disastrous defeat last Sunday where Castro’s go-ahead triple with 2.7 seconds left gave the Tropang Giga a 93-92 win.

“It’s going to be much harder. I expect it to be even tougher than last Sunday,” Reyes said. “We’ll see how we will be able to take advantage of the recovery period.”

Coach Chito Victolero said that what happened in Game 3 was just the “breaks of the game,” stressing they’re making only a few adjustments in Game 4.

JAYSON CASTRO is hugged by teammates after he makes the Game 3 clincher from downtown.