Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
San Miguel import Charles Rhodes said it was a total team effort that lifted them from a dirge of a first half en route to a 111-102 over TNT in Game 5 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen were dreadful to watch in the second period, absorbing each and every single one of the KaTropa’s eight three-pointers and ending the first half trailing by 61-46
Not only was the difference in the halftime scores glaring, TNT’s production of 35 points in the second quarter alone seemed gargantuan to San Miguel’s 17.
Rhodes said everything changed come the third quarter and he credited his team’s collective sense of urgency for turning it around in the second half.
“We were down 15 at the half, and that’s all we talked about,” said Rhodes. “We know what time of team we have and we knew we did some mistakes and we just had to adjust to it. We knew what we were doing wrong.”
San Miguel was able to counteract TNT’s offensive punch with a spirited effort of its own.
The Beermen doubled the KaTropa’s production of 18 third quarter points, putting up 36 in the penultimate period, including a 19-4 run.
Instrumental in the quarter turnaround was 2013 MVP Arwind Santos, who had 14 of his 27 points in the third period.
“Arwind always told me that when the Finals came he played his best, and he was the MVP out there tonight,” said Rhodes who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
San Miguel now lead the series 3-2.