It's a worn-out statement that coaches use to describe a grind-it-out win. But in TNT's case on Friday, defense indeed was the key.
TNT held San Miguel to without a field goal in the last 3:30 of the game and withstood a near one-man show by June Mar Fajardo in the 4th quarter to win 87-85 in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The loss, San Miguel's first in 71 days and only its second in the Philippine Cup, snapped an 11-game winning streak.
"It was really hard for a coach doon sa mga ganung situation," said TNT head coach Nash Racela, referencing the elimination round game his team lost on a late Alex Cabagnot 3-pointer.
"We made sure (Cabagnot) won't at least have a look at the basket. We'll take our chances. Again, players were able to make a stop in the end so that's very important."
Jayson Castro finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists and Ranidel de Ocampo contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds on a night when both teams shot poorly from the field.
The win was TNT's first against San Miguel in 3 tries this conference.
"We really don't talk much about our confidence but we talked about San Miguel's confidence, which is really high," Racela said.
"As a coach, ang sinasabi ko sa kanila the way to take (San Miguel's confidence) out . . . is by beating them. At least today, we were able to do that. Hopefully this changes everything."
Subduing a team with the 3-time MVP wasn't easy.
Fajardo scored 10 of his 25 points in the 4th, his 2 free throws helping San Miguel to retake the lead 82-80 after trailing much of the quarter.
But TNT's defense stymied the defending champions' offense forcing them to miss shots and commit errors.
On offense, a split on the line by Kelly Williams, and baskets by Roger Pogoy, Castro and De Ocampo pushed TNT ahead 87-82.
After 3 free throws by Cabagnot and a missed triple by De Ocampo in the ensuing play, San Miguel had a chance to tie the game or win it outright with 5 seconds left, but the Beermen couldn't get into their set and ended up heaving an off-balanced desperation shot well after time expired.
Fajardo feasted in the middle, adding 11 rebounds and 7 blocks, while Cabagnot added 24 points.
The Beermen couldn't hit from outside, though, as Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos combined for 2 of 17 from 3-point range. Overall, San Miguel converted 26% (7 of 26) from downtown.
Troy Rosario led TNT with 14 points.
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