JERICHO Cruz lamented San Miguel Beer's lack of effort in Game 5 that allowed TNT to stay alive in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals with an 86-78 victory on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen played catch-up throughout the match and failed to take advantage of TNT's severely thin roster marred by injuries, in the process blowing their chance to wrap up the series and reclaim the all-Filipino championship in 5 games.
"Yung effort namin walang-wala sa effort nila," Cruz admitted. "Kumbaga, yung effort nila to the highest, kami naman up-and-down, up-and-down. Kaya credit sa kanila (TNT), kasi lahat sila nagstep-up."
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser came out strong in the first quarter and went on to finish with 18 points, five rebounds, three steals and five blocks while Kelly Williams dropped 14 points, mostly from the three-point arc, while grabbing seven rebounds.
Almond Vosotros also came through for the Tropang 5G with 11 points, including crucial baskets in the second half as TNT repelled a furious SMB rally and cut the Beermen's lead in the series to 3-2.
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Meanwhile, Cruz tallied 20 to show the way for SMB but didn't get enough support from his teammates. Don Trollano, who played big in Games 2, 3 and 4, visibly struggled with his shooting and managed just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting.
There also seems no end to CJ Perez's shooting woes as he scored only five points on 1-of-9 from the field in Game 5 while Mo Tautuaa had a silent nine points and three rebounds.
"Deserved nila (TNT) manalo. Kaya move on na lang at back to the drawing board," said Cruz.(JT)
