Trollano emerges as San Miguel’s Game 3 hero amid Fajardo’s struggles

MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel’s six-point halftime cushion disappeared in under three minutes, and suddenly, the Beermen were out of answers against the raging Ginebra offense.

June Mar Fajardo was scoreless. CJ Perez misfired. Marcio Lassiter could not buy a look.

Then Don Trollano took over.

Trollano poured 15 points in the third quarter to finish with 33 points and lead San Miguel to a 91-85 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Friday, January 9. 

“I’m open so I just shoot it,” Trollano said in Filipino after his third-quarter triples helped fend off Ginebra’s rally. “My teammates and coaches trusted me. Good thing that it went in. If not, Ginebra would have probably went on a run.”

“In the past two games, I was not playing well. Coming into this game, the mindset was to play my game, be aggressive, and when open, shoot it,” he added. 

Aside from his third-quarter storm, Trollano also delivered key baskets late in the fourth period, including a three-point play that doused Ginebra’s 10-2 run, which closed the gap to 4, 87-83. 

Ginebra’s misses and miscues ensued as San Miguel surged ahead in the best-of-7 series, 2-1. 

San Miguel head coach Leo Austria highlighted the team’s defense, which held Ginebra to under 90 points and limited them to 17 assists on 29 made field goals. 

“Defense was really working for us. We allowed them just 85 points — that’s less than 90,” Austria said in Filipino, as San Miguel has now won back-to-back games in the series after dropping the series opener. 

Perez had 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, while Mo Tautuaa added 13 markers off the bench for San Miguel. 

Fajardo, who struggled with shoulder issues throughout the game, only put up 6 points, all in the fourth quarter, with just 1 field goal made in 8 attempts. He also recorded 19 boards to power the Beermen in the rebounding department, 62-49, against the Gin Kings.

“He is not complaining,” Austria said of Fajardo. “When I was trying to give him rest, he really wanted to get back on the floor. When the player is like that — he wants to win — I have no choice but to put them back in… His presence on the floor has really helped a lot.”

San Miguel held Ginebra’s spitfire guard RJ Abarrientos to only 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Scottie Thompson carried the cudgels for the team with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Japeth Aguilar chipped in 14 markers and 8 rebounds. 

Following an impressive Game 1 win in the series, Ginebra will now enter Game 4 with questions about their offense, as no player scored more than 8 points besides their top three scorers. 

Bench warmer Nard Pinto provided 8 points for Ginebra in just 10 minutes of action.

Earlier, the Meralco Bolts scored their first semifinal victory against TNT, 97-89, to narrow the Tropang 5G’s series lead to 2-1. 

Game 4 for both series will be on Sunday, January 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena. – Rappler.com