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PBA: Kelly Williams takes pride in defensive effort against Fajardo

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="TNT" s="" Kelly="" Williams="" battles="" San="" Mo="" Tautuaa="" and="" June="" Mar="" Fajardo="" in="" the="" paint.="" PBA="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/08/31/20220831-pba-tnt-kelly-williams.jpg"/><figcaption>TNT&#x27;s Kelly Williams battles San Miguel&#x27;s Mo Tautuaa and June Mar Fajardo in the paint. PBA Images.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- Even with June Mar Fajardo dominating the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup finals, the TNT Tropang GIGA have managed to stay toe-to-toe with the San Miguel Beermen.Fajardo had 20 points and 19 rebounds in Game 4 last Sunday, but the Tropang GIGA came away with a 100-87 win, knotting the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.Much has been said of the Tropang GIGA&#x27;s three turnovers in the game -- the fewest in PBA history -- but TNT assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga believes that their defense was also a major factor in the win. San Miguel shot 44% from the field but were only 4-of-22 from long range. Their 15 turnovers also led to 15 points for TNT.&quot;We felt that everybody also stepped up on D,&quot; Arespacochaga said. &quot;Of course, Kelly [Williams] has the biggest load against June Mar every game, but a lot of players helped in that regard, pressuring the guards and offering help when needed.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/28/22/pba-tnt-outguns-smb-in-game-4-to-tie-finals">READ: TNT outguns SMB in Game 4 to tie Finals</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/28/22/bpc-coronation-is-bittersweet-for-smbs-fajardo">READ: BPC coronation is bittersweet for SMB&#x27;s Fajardo</a></li></ul>The veteran Williams has been TNT&#x27;s first line of defense against Fajardo, standing strong against the &quot;Kraken&quot; whenever he gets the ball inside the post. The former PBA Most Valuable Player has also done his best to push Fajardo out of his comfort zone and prevent him from getting the ball in the first place.It doesn&#x27;t always work, as shown by Fajardo&#x27;s gaudy numbers in the series. But Williams is keeping his defensive assignment in perspective, and believes that they are doing as good a job as possible against an all-time great in Fajardo.&quot;June Mar is June Mar, so no one&#x27;s gonna stop him one-on-one. Even with team schemes, it&#x27;s gonna be difficult. He&#x27;s too big, he&#x27;s too talented, he&#x27;s too strong,&quot; Williams explained. &quot;So my mentality going into it is to just give him a little bit of resistance, and try to slow him down as much as possible, knowing that my team has my back.&quot;Fajardo has been very efficient in the finals, making nearly 67% of his shots. He is currently averaging 21 points and 17.5 rebounds per game, while playing over 40 minutes per contest. He has battled through triple- and quadruple-teams sent to him by TNT, scoring even when well-defended.This is not at all surprising to Williams, who refuses to get too down on himself whenever Fajardo puts up big numbers or converts a difficult shot.&quot;You expect that. He&#x27;s a professional. Like I said, he&#x27;s big, he&#x27;s strong, he&#x27;s gonna get his. So if anyone goes into that situation thinking I&#x27;m gonna stop him, they&#x27;re gonna be disappointed,&quot; he pointed out.&quot;My purpose isn&#x27;t to stop June Mar. My purpose is to give him a hard time, and that&#x27;s my mentality for anybody that I&#x27;m playing against,&quot; he added. &quot;It&#x27;s very much a load to try to guard June Mar, but I take it in stride, and I take it in pride.&quot;&quot;It&#x27;s an honor to be able to match up with someone as great as he is, and I&#x27;m just gonna try to continue to enjoy the journey and the opportunity.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/29/22/energy-effort-made-the-difference-in-game-4-says-smbs-perez">READ: Energy, effort made the difference in Game 4, says SMB&#x27;s Perez</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/29/22/pba-coach-chots-return-a-boost-to-tnts-spirits">READ: Coach Chot&#x27;s return a boost to TNT&#x27;s spirits</a></li></ul>That the series is tied even with Fajardo tallying monster numbers is also a testament to their defensive work on his teammates. In Game 4, TNT limited CJ Perez to just 13 points, and kept Marcio Lassiter from going off until late in the game, when the Tropang GIGA were already well in control. Jericho Cruz, another explosive San Miguel guard, was held to six points. &quot;It&#x27;s a team game. So, somebody from their team is gonna get their numbers. Be it June Mar or be it Marcio, CJ. It&#x27;s almost like you pick your poison,&quot; said Williams.&quot;For us, we&#x27;re just gonna continue to back each other up and bet on ourselves, and bet on the system that&#x27;s helped us get to this position, and we&#x27;re just gonna continue to build and try to limit our mistakes and see what happens from there,&quot; he added.Game 5 of the series is on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2202878" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Even with June Mar Fajardo dominating the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the TNT Tropang GIGA have managed to stay toe-to-toe with the San Miguel Beermen.

PBA: Kelly Williams takes pride in defensive effort against Fajardo

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PBA: Kelly Williams takes pride in defensive effort against Fajardo

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 31, 2022 06:16 AM PHT

Read More:

basketball

PBA

PBA Philippine Cup

San Miguel Beermen

TNT Tropang GIGA

June Mar Fajardo

Kelly Williams

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