The drama sparked by the much-talked-about offensive basketball interference now shifts to a fight for 2-0 series lead or 1-1 deadlock, with the PBA Philippine Cup title protagonists setting out for battle both locked and loaded.
One side is fired-up by the thought of being denied and the other is bent on marching forward, braced for an intense enemy fightback, making Game 2 a surefire explosive match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.
THE TNT Tropang 5G seek a follow-up on their 99-96 escape win in the series opener but the San Miguel Beermen are eager to return to the warfront and finish what they failed to complete the last time.
Game time is at 7:30 p.m.
A win for the Tropa will push them to closer to the coveted Grand Slam while a triumph for the Beermen will send the two teams back to scratch, fighting for the 2-1 upper hand in Game 3 Friday also at the Big Dome.
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June Mar Fajardo and his teammates are only expected to make the crucial nullification of Mo Tautuaa's shot as a rallying point or a driving force to get even.
"I told the team it's beyond our control (now) so let's focus and let's move forward. Let's be motivated by the incident," said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Their big 30-14 closing salvo highlighting their chase from 24 points down gives the Beermen positive vibes going to the next game.
"We showed we can compete with TNT," said Austria although there's no doubt about it with all the firepower at his disposal.
For the Tropa, a good thought is how they handled the pressure and how they kept their composure.
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"We expected it (SMB fightback). We had no illusions that San Miguel would just roll down, roll and lay down. So we kept talking to our players to just relax, stay calm," said TNT mentor Chot Reyes.
"We missed a couple of layups and that's what happens against a team like San Miguel. When you give them an inch of opportunity, they're going to pounce on it. So they upped their defensive pressure. Chris Ross is a one-man pressing machine, he almost single-handedly brought his team back. But good enough, we kept our composure in the end." (SB)
