Different animal

Game today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

7:30 p.m. — TNT vs San Miguel

It’s down to a chase to three more wins for San Miguel Beer and the TNT Tropang 5G.

The will and fighting spirit of both teams will be tested in the tiebreaker Game 3 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tipoff time is set at 7:30 p.m. with the Beermen oozing with confidence after posting a 98-92 victory in Game 2 last Wednesday to gain the equalizer that completely buried the bitterness of their controversial 99-96 loss in the series opener.

San Miguel went to its bread-and-butter inside points and tightened the defensive screws on TNT’s outside shooting, especially in the fourth period, limiting the Tropang 5G to 1-of-10 from the three-point area in the payoff period.

They pounded 64 points in the paint and outrebounded the Tropang 5G, 53-43, to negate the club’s struggles from the outside. San Miguel connected only two triples in Game 2 for a poor 7-of-28 three-point shooting in the series.

“You have to give credit also to the defense of Talk ‘N Text because all of our shots on the perimeter were contested,” Beermen coach Leo Austria said.

The nine-time mentor, however, isn’t worried about San Miguel missing their outside bombs as long as the Tropang 5G don’t make theirs.

“What is important is after coming from a high percentage in our first game we limited their three-point shooting a bit,” Austria said.

But while San Miguel is enjoying a much healthier June Mar Fajardo with Chris Ross turning back the hands of time and Don Trollano, Mo Tautuaa, CJ Perez and Jeron Teng contributing, TNT’s injury woes persist.

Big man Poy Erram remains doubtful after spraining his right ankle in the third quarter of Game 2, leaving Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and veteran Kelly Williams the tough task of putting a body against Fajardo.

“Whoever is next in line, they’re just going to have to do their job. Hopefully, Poy can bounce back, but if not, we will be ready,” Ganuelas-Rosser said.

“June Mar is a different animal. Just making it as difficult as we can. This series is even right now so we just have to make adjustments,” he added.

The Tropang 5G will need to get RR Pogoy’s explosiveness back. He was limited to just six points in Game 2 after dropping 23 in the opener in his first game back from a four-game absence due to a hamstring injury.