Don Trollano took responsibility for San Miguel Beer’s narrow 85-84 loss to NLEX that got their quest to defend the PBA Philippine Cup off to a rough start.
Trollano had a chance to save the Beermen from the jaws of defeat on Wednesday at Ynares Center in Antipolo City in the final seconds, but made an errant decision to go for a pass instead of taking a shot before the buzzer, allowing the Road Warriors to complete a comeback win. ‘That’s on me. It’s my mistake,’ Trollano said. ‘I guess I didn’t calculate how much time was left.’
The Beermen guard was actually leading San Miguel’s bid to preserve the victory with some outside shots in the fourth quarter, and had knocked down a four-pointer in the final seconds that cut the Road Warriors’ lead to one.
JB Bahio’s two missed free throws gave San Miguel a chance to take the victory, but to no avail.
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‘There were no specific instructions for me to be the first option. The only instruction was for the open man to take the shot,’ said Trollano, who finished with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting with five assists and three steals.
A silver lining is that it was only San Miguel’s first game of the conference, and there’s plenty of chances for Trollano to atone for his late-game miscue.
‘I’ll make up for it next time,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Trollano was chosen by the PBA Press Corps as its Mr. Quality Minutes for Season 49 for his impact in the Beermen’s run to the all-Filipino title. The award is equivalent to the Sixth Man of the Year.