Don Trollano bounced back after a prior scoreless outing as he led San Miguel’s pivotal second-quarter assault against Phoenix in the PBA Philippine Cup.
After a scoreless outing in San Miguel's previous match against TNT, Don Trollano knew he needed to step up in the Beermen's next game.
And that's exactly what he did as he powered SMB's telling second-quarter outburst to provide the early cushion en route to a 111-92 bounce-back win over Phoenix in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Sunday, May 11.
Trollano fired 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals — numbers that led to him bagging the Player of the Game honors.
“Bad game ako last [time]. Sobrang gigil ko to bounce back ngayon. Nakuha ko naman,” said Trollano, whose team improved its record to 4-2.
He poured 10 points in the pivotal second period, where the Beermen outgunned the Fuel Masters, 34-21, to take a 64-50 lead entering halftime.
Cjay Perez and June Mar Fajardo then kept Phoenix at bay in the fourth.
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Perez finished with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, while eight-time Most Valuable Player Fajardo scattered 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and a block.
“Kailangan naming mag-step up. Our mindset is just to win, because we can’t afford to lose back-to-back games. Ang standings, dikit-dikit. 'Pag natalo ay babagsak kami,” said Trollano.
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Meanwhile, the Fuel Masters leaned on Kai Ballungay, who produced 23 points, including nine in the final period. He also had three rebounds, an assist and two steals.
Ken Tuffin and Jason Perkins added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Still, they could not prevent their squad from dropping to 2-4.
San Miguel vs Phoenix Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 111– Perez 26, Trollano 21, Fajardo 20, Lassiter 11, Brondial 8, Tautuaa 7, Teng 6, Cruz 5, Ross 4, Calma 3, Teng 2, Cahilig 0, Rosales 0, Tiongson 0.
PHOENIX 92 – Ballungay 23, Tuffin 16, Perkins 15, Tio 8, Daves 8, Manganti 5, Rivero 5, Camacho 4, Verano 4, Jazul 3, Garcia 1, Alejandro 0, Cullar 0, Soyud 0, Ular 0.
Quarterscores: 30-29, 64-50, 85-63, 111-92.