If you happened to miss out on the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup’s Sunday match, here’s a quick rundown to keep you updated.
TNT re-captures shooting touch in Game 7
The TNT Tropang Giga advanced to the Finals after carving out a 97-79 Game 7 victory over the San Miguel Beermen.
Main Takeaways:
- RR Pogoy averaged 23.3 points in the first three games of this series, and at that time, it looked like the TNT star would be in takeover mode the rest of the way. But he hit a snag in Game 4 when he only scored two points on 1-of-10 shooting, and then was non-existent again in Game 6 as he only produced six markers on a 2-of-20 clip from the field. During those two games that Pogoy struggled in, there’s a case to be made that TNT didn’t give him the right amount of touches that will get his rhythm going. But Pogoy was able to assert his will in Game 7, as he drilled four treys on his way to a game-high 27 markers. The former Far Eastern University star had more command of the ball in the Tropang Giga’s offense today, and he rightfully delivered the goods for his team.
- It was a lowly shooting night for the San Miguel shooters. Marcio Lassiter did not even produce a single point, and that wasn’t entirely his fault. He only attempted two shots after three quarters, which is really unusual for a shooter of his caliber, especially considering that he’s coming off an efficient 19-point outing in Game 6. Whether by facilitating the pick-and-roll or being at the end of the Beermen’s ball movement after a June Mar Fajardo kickout pass, the ball has to find Lassiter’s hands. As a team, San Miguel only shot 25% from the three-point line in the loss, with Arwind Santos missing all of his six attempts, and Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross combining for a 2-of-10 clip.
- It was another excellent game for Fajardo (22 points, 16 rebounds) but he could only do so much for this team. Mo Tautuaa suffered an injury after playing only 11 minutes, and his loss had a big impact on San Miguel’s chances. Tautuaa eclipsed the 20-point mark in two of the last three games, and he was quite effective when playing alongside Fajardo at the frontcourt. This semifinals loss will be a tough pill to swallow for the Beermen, but Tautuaa’s emergence in this series should be a bright spot, especially with Father Time already catching up with Santos.
Advanced Stats are now available for Philippine basketball! Through Ryan Alba’s ‘Stats by Ryan’, you can now look at team and player advanced stats for the current 2021 PBA Philippine Cup (and the previous three seasons) via the Dribble Media website.
Check out this glossary for a list of the basketball advanced stats terminologies.
You can also contact Ryan via his Twitter handle (@_alba__).
