San Miguel wary of Katropa antics

TNT

Katropa head coach Nash Racela will be sticking with injured import Joshua Smith as his team struggles against San Miguel Beermen in the 2017 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals.

Reports surfaced on Monday that Smith could be replaced by either Mike Myers or Governor’s Cup import Michael Craig, also of TNT. But Racela said replacing Smith has not crossed his mind.

“No, no. We’re not even thinking about that at this point,” Racela said. “We committed a lot of turnovers, that’s basically the problem. It resulted in 26 turnover points, so that’s one problem that we need to really address for Game 4.”

“It’s always a combination,” he added. “Because of their defense, because of, siguro, poor execution on our part, so we need to really look at that.

Smith.” Hindi lang naman talaga dahil

Instead of pinning the kay team’s hopes on Smith, Racela has called on his local players to make their contributions, especially Roger Pogoy, who was held scoreless in Games 2 and 3.

“I told the team to make sure we do our homework, watch the game and study,” Racela said. “I told everybody to pitch in if they have suggestions, be ready to throw it up when we meet.”

Katropa, which ruled the same conference two years ago, are in a must-win situation in tonight’s game. Another defeat will pull San Miguel closer to their second-straight championship.

RICHARD ESGUERRA FOR ABS-CBN SPORTS Beermen June Mar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross celebrate their victory against TNT during Game 3 of the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Sunday. San Miguel are going for a 3-1 lead tonight as Katropa try to level the series after drawing...

AP In this November 2016 photo, Manny Pacquiao (right) lands a right on Jessie Vargas during their WBO welterweight championship match. After his unanimous-decision win in this fight, Pacquiao faces the undefeated Jeff Horn on Sunday.