San Miguel ready for knockout punch

San Miguel Beer is looking for a quick turnaround after squandering a chance to finish off the grand slam-seeking TNT Tropang 5G in Game 5 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals.

The Beermen are on the cusp of annexing the franchise’s 30th title overall after winning three of the first four matches in the best-of-seven series.

And Game 5 last Wednesday could’ve been San Miguel’s glorious day of its return to the throne.

Instead, it was TNT walking away with a much-needed victory to drag the showdown to a Game 6 today at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

“We started really flat. But that game is over and done already. It’s all behind now. We just need to bounce back in the next game on Friday,” San Miguel center June Mar Fajardo said following his team’s 78-86 loss that snapped a three-game winning streak.

The Beermen built quite a momentum after dropping a controversial series opener.

They looked poised to close the series with TNT missing two key players in center Poy Erram (hamstring) and Simon Enciso (fractured orbital bone). San Miguel was also coming off back-to-back blowout wins.

But the Tropang 5G flipped the script anyway.

Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Kelly Williams led TNT’s assault on offense and, more importantly, provided stability on the painted area by holding their own against Fajardo, who had to work hard to get a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.

“You can never take Talk ‘N Text lightly. We know they’re a champion team. They are back-to-back champions, so you can’t be too complacent,” the 12-time Best Player of the Conference said.

Indeed, San Miguel can’t let its guards down despite still holding a 2-3 series lead.

Another TNT win will significantly alter the entire complexion of the series.

“So, we really need to bring out our 100 percent in the next game. But again, we remain positive since we’re still up in the series,” Fajardo said.

Only two teams have overcome a 1-3 finals series deficit. Barangay Ginebra pulled it over Shell in the 1991 First Conference and San Miguel during its “Beeracle” run over Alaska in the 2016 Philippine Cup.