Mo Tautuaa quick to move on after being center of contentious Game 1 finish

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Making the most of a rare start, Mo Tautuaa plays a key role as San Miguel pulls level with TNT in the PBA Philippine Cup finals

MANILA, Philippines – For Mo Tautuaa, there was no point crying over spilled milk.

At the center of the controversial ending in Game 1, Tautuaa quickly moved past the incident and helped San Miguel pull level with TNT in the PBA Philippine Cup finals by way of a 98-92 win on Wednesday, July 16.

Tautuaa turned in 16 points and 4 rebounds in a rare start as the Beermen bounced back from a gut-wrenching 99-96 defeat in the series opener — a game that slipped out of hands of San Miguel following a contentious call.

“After that frustrating loss, we kind of tried to put that to the side because there was nothing we could do about it anymore at this point so all we’re doing now is just making sure we go out and play our game,” Tautuaa said.

“When we play our brand of basketball, we do well. It feels good.”

Tautuaa was on his way to being the Game 1 hero after his missed dunk bounced in, giving the Beermen a 98-97 lead with a minute left.

However, the technical committee later on overruled his basket for offensive interference as Tautuaa pulled the ring down before his shot went in, paving the way for the Tropang 5G to escape with the victory.

“I think that was the first time anyone has lost a game like that where points get taken away,” Tautuaa said. “I’ve never seen that ever in my life, so that was cool in that sense, I guess. But it sucks that we had to lose that way.”

“But I mean today was all about us playing together.”

Tautuaa said his dunking days are probably over.

He attempted to flush it home with over two minutes left in Game 2 after grabbing an offensive rebound, but the ball once again bounced off the ring.

“I missed another dunk. I think I’m done trying to dunk now. I feel like I got over that point where I’ll just lay it in from now on,” Tautuaa said with a smile.

As San Miguel tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1, Tautuaa hopes the Beermen continue playing with joy.

“When we play that way, things just go for us — we start rolling better, we start shooting better, we start playing better,” he said.

Game 3 is slated on Friday, July 18, at the Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com