San Miguel’s Juami Tiongson (left) and TNT’s Almond Vosotros (right) in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals. Photo from PBA Images.
MANILA — Juami Tiongson and Almond Vosotros briefly rekindled their old collegiate rivalry in Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday.
With the TNT Tropang 5G leading the San Miguel Beermen 20-10 at the 3:53 mark of the opening frame, the two former UAAP guards received a technical foul each during the deadball due to an altercation.
However, while this reminded fans of their history while donning the colors of Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University in the early 2010s, Tiongson made it clear that it only came due to the heat of the moment.
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"Wala naman yun," said the 5-foot-10 Tiongson, who finished with eight points in their 105-91 victory. "Friendly competition lang, and kaibigan ko naman si Almond."
"Inunahan niya kasi ako, kaya bumawi lang ako," added the four-time UAAP champion.
But aside from getting one over the former Green Archer, the often mild-mannered Tiongson said that his aggressiveness manifested due to him seeking to fire himself up after subpar performances in the first three contests.
"It was more of, I just wanted to be more aggressive," said Tiongson, who matched his total point production of Games 1 to 3 in Game 4. "The last games, medyo off ako, so it was nice to find my shot."
The Beermen eventually crawled back from their double-digit deficit to build a 3-1 lead over the Tropang 5G, with the 5-foot-10 ace hitting a pair of triples in the first period as a part of their 11-to-3 ender in that same frame.
It's now up for Tiongson and the rest of the Beermen to maintain their energy as they look to end the series on Wednesday, as he understands how potent the Grand Slam-seeking TNT still is.
"Capable pa rin ang TNT with their personnel," he emphasized. "So, we want to make sure that we'll end it on Wednesday."
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