The Meralco Bolts are aiming to limit the offensive touches of the San Miguel Beermen behemoth June Mar Fajardo in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
According to Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo, containing the seven-time PBA MVP winner will help their cause in capturing their first-ever PBA championship after six final appearances.
Fajardo, a 10-time PBA Best Player of the Conference winner, went berserk with a double-double of 38 points and 18 rebounds in the Beermen’s 92-88 Game 5 defeat to the Bolts on Friday night.
“We know San Miguel is capable of bouncing back,” Trillo said. “I look at the box scores; June Mar had 38 points, he had 18 rebounds, 14 out of 17 (field goals). He came to play. So we have to take care of him.”
Trillo also pointed out that the Bolts need to learn from their previous final heartbreak and must display fire, determination, and hard work to possibly close out the championship series tonight.
“Right now, PBA Finals is nothing. Nobody remembers second place. You’ve got to win one to gain the respect. That’s on our minds; that’s our focus heading to Game 6,” Trillo said.
“It takes a lot of trials sa finals. Masakit ‘yun (losses), but we relish it. It’s a learning thing for us; you grow from that, and our guys have been so relentless on that, alam namin pagkukulang,” he added. “Those things kind of make you have a chip on your shoulder.”
