Jericho Cruz and the rest of San Miguel will aim for the finisher anew when they collide with TNT in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Jericho Cruz kept his assessment simple after San Miguel failed to close out the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals against TNT in Game 5 Wednesday, July 23.
He pointed out the efforts of the Beermen, which paled in comparison to the backs-against-the-wall Tropang 5G.
San Miguel, enjoying a 3-1 lead in the series prior to Game 5, only needed a victory to raise the All-Filipino conference trophy. Instead, the Beermen stumbled, and thus ignited the dying hopes of Grand Slam-seeking TNT.
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“Ang pinakakulang namin, effort talaga. Ang effort namin, walang-wala sa effort nila,” Cruz said on the heels of SMB's 78-86 loss in Game 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“'Yong effort nila, to the highest. Kami, up and down.”
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Cruz, who spearheaded the Beermen with a game-high 20 points, was spot on.
The Tropang 5G, after all, came out of the gates with guns ablaze, even holding leads of as high as 18 points.
But SMB would not raise the white flag just yet.
The Beermen rose to the challenge, trimming the gap to as low as eight in the fourth period. But time just was not on their side.
"Talo kami. They deserve to win. Walang problema sa'kin 'yon. Hindi naman ako sore loser,” Cruz said.
“Nakatatanggap naman ako ng talo. Move on na lang. Back to the drawing board, viewing. Titingnan namin ang mali namin.”
The Beermen look to finally end the series in Game 6 Friday, July 25, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
“Sa next game namin, [we'll improve on] 'yong effort lang talaga namin. Kudos sa kanila (Tropang 5G) dahil lahat sa kanila, nag-wu-work, eh,” Cruz said.