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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Regroup and refocus: SMB puts controversial Game 1 loss behind, eyes equalizer vs TNT

Regroup and refocus: SMB puts controversial Game 1 loss behind, eyes equalizer vs TNT

Published Jul 15, 2025 10:37 am

At A Glance

  • San Miguel aims to move on from all the drama from the Game 1 loss and refocus on the bigger task at hand – equalize the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals series against TNT in Game 2 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, July 16.
San Miguel aims to move on from all the drama from the Game 1 loss and refocus on the bigger task at hand – equalize the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals series against TNT in Game 2 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, July 16.
Although SMB officials appeared before the league office on Monday, July 14, the Beermen did not push through filing a formal protest on the outcome of the series opener and instead turned their attention to the second game that tips off at 7:30 p.m.
Head coach Leo Austria, who was a picture of calmness in the midst of confusion and frustration, quickly reminded his wards that all is not lost for the team and instead urged them to use the 99-96 Game 1 defeat as a motivation come Game 2.
Though the series could have easily been a 1-0 lead for SMB, the silver lining is that the Beermen can compete against a near-complete Tropang 5G who led by as many as 24 in the first half.
SMB unloaded a massive 19-0 run in the final frame and even put itself in the position to win up until the fateful offensive basket interference call on Mo Tautuaa’s dunk with 56 seconds left took away all of the team’s momentum.
“I told the team, it's beyond our control, so let us focus and let's move forward. And let's be motivated with this incident. Because in this game, we realized that we can play and compete with them,” said Austria.
SMB rolled with TNT’s initial punches led by the hot shooting of Jordan Heading and RR Pogoy – something that the Beermen cannot anymore afford should it want to tie the series at 1-1.
June Mar Fajardo also needs to assert himself inside the paint early similar to what he did in the second half of Game 1 while the rest of the team in CJ Perez, Juami Tiongson, Jericho Cruz, Don Trollano and Marcio Lassiter should also be on point.
As for TNT’s part, the team has long moved forward from the controversy of Game 1 and immediately shut out the noise and distractions to keep their eyes on the big prize.
For one, winning in Game 2 would allow the Tropa to not only take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series but also move two wins away from the coveted Grand Slam.
TNT, however, cannot fall to the same trap of complacency as it did in the second half of Game 1 where it had a seven-minute scoring drought that almost cost it the game.
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