Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
TNT import Joshua Smith isn’t losing sleep over the way San Miguel defended him in Game 2 of the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
“I’ve seen double teams since I came here, since the last game. Nothing can really surprise me,” he said after the KaTropa’s 102-88 defeat to the Beermen on Friday.
The 25-year-old behemoth downplayed the defensive schemes San Miguel employed on him, noting that though he only had 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists, it was not the double and triple-teams which led to TNT’s downfall.
“They played harder and they deserve to win. We’re the more aggressive team in the first game and we won. They were the more aggressive team in this game. It’s a seven-game series, now it’s five,” he said.
Smith, though, agreed that frustration may have gotten the better of the KaTropa, and it’s up to them to play through those distractions if they want to snag Game 3 on Sunday.
“We can’t control how the referees [handle] the game. Like I said, we all feel different about the refs. We can’t control what they do, and I told the guys that we got to go out here like they’re out there. We got to control the game. They make the calls, whether right or wrong, so we got to keep playing,” he said.
And that just drives him to perform better and help the team come Sunday, as TNT seeks to once again gain advantage in the championship duel.
“It’s a seven-game series and we lost one game. It’s funny because we win close games and the games we lose, we get blown out. If that’s an indication right there, we want to come back ready for Game 3,” he said.