San Miguel’s Simon Enciso. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Simon Enciso had been wallowing in irrelevance in the first five games of the PBA Philippine Cup championship series. He could not have picked a more opportune moment to make his presence felt.
Enciso delivered 20 points in a 114-96 Game 6 win at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday night, helping San Miguel Beer force a do-or-die duel with defending champion TNT this Sunday.
“I just do what I do,” he told reporters shortly after the contest. “I just go to the gym, work hard and come out with the same mentality every game.”
Enciso poured 17 of his total output in the second quarter, helping San Miguel sustain a hot first quarter start and put TNT in a double-digit hole going into the halftime break.
He finished 6-for-11 from deep, which he said was simply a product of that cutthroat mentality he has been subscribing to.
“I just came to the game with that same mentality: shoot the ball when I’m open. Lucky my hard work paid off and I hit shots tonight,” he added.
It was a welcome improvement for the guard, who—prior to Friday’s clash—had only one productive game in the championship series. He finished with 15 points in a blowout at the hands of the Tropang Giga—his former team—in Game 4.
And with Game 7 looming, Enciso knows all too well that the opposing side won’t be giving any quarter.
“It’s going to be a dogfight. Game 7 is always a big game,” he said. “It’s win or go home.”
“Whoever wants it more is going to win, and that’s what we’re going to do: Come out, executive a gameplan and [show] we want it more than them.”