BUOYED by its riveting title win against Magnolia in the Commissioner’s Cup last month, one would think defending champion San Miguel Beer is still on cloud nine.
Think again.
For Beermen coach Jorge Gallent, his charges are moving forward in the PBA Philippine Cup with their sights trained on a lofty goal–another crown.
“We talked about it–the whole thing, and we said we would go back last March 4 but when we went back last March 4, it’s gonna be intense and that’s what happened. I think it took us 10 days to get into game shape.
“Our practices were really nice and intense, that’s why iyong level of play is still up there,” he added.
Gallent spoke after SMB carved out a thrilling 91-89 escape over TNT last Sunday night for its second straight win and the early solo lead.
The Beermen went into the duel with the Tropang Giga armed with a 109-97 shellacking of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters four days back that kicked off their drive in the season-ending tilt on a high.
TNT, coming off a 100-97 decision over Terrafirma last March 9, slipped to 2-2.
With the pro league taking a long break for the annual All-Star festivities from March 23-24 in Bacolod and the Holy Week after, Gallent expects his team to sustain its grit.
“Sana tuloy-tuloy but we can’t do anything about it. The All-Star will be held this coming week, so we just have to follow what the PBA wants. Maybe after the All-Star iyong mentality namin from March 4 to 14 will be the same,” Gallent said.
“After the All-Star, we will rest for a day and then we will work hard again and prepare for battle in our next games.”
SMB drew a double-double from reigning seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo with 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Don Trollano added 12 markers and nine boards.
Marcio Lassiter and Jericho Cruz also combined for 24 points for the Beermen.
TNT still had a chance to pull the rug from under SMB but Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser misfired on his last-gasp triple try at the buzzer.
“It was our defense in the last three (point attempt) that made us win the game,” Gallent said. “Even if Ganuelas-Rosser had an open shot, it was still challenged. That’s what I always tell them. If we cannot score, we can just make bawi on defense, and that’s what we did.”
Veteran playmaker Jayson Castro showed the way for the Tropang Giga with 20 points, four caroms, and six assists, while Roger Pogoy had 15.
Calvin Oftana, Kelly Williams, and Kim Aurin also got 14, 14, and 10 markers, respectively, for TNT.
