By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
When it rains, it pours.
Playing inspired basketball to keep their Governor’s Cup playoffs bid alive, Don Trollano of the NLEX Road Warriors delivered one of the best shooting performances in the history of the PBA after knocking down nine three-pointers to ink his name in the history books during their 142-125 win against the Terrafirma Dyip last March 2, 2023.
After missing his first attempt, Trollano went unconscious and drained nine-straight three-pointers on his way to a career-high 44-points built from 9/11 shooting from downtown.
Trollano now holds the record for the most threes in a single game, shattering the previous achievements of Allan Caidic, Renren Ritualo, and Von Pessumal who each had eight.
Caidic first grabbed the feat way back in 1991 which was equalized by Ritualo 14 years after. Pessumal then became the latest to reach the mark when he was still with the San Miguel Beermen last 2019 before Trollano’s record-breaking performance.
Aside from flaunting his three-point prowess, Trollano also shot the lights out from the perimeter, converting eight out of his 12 total attempts from the two-point area.
“I want him to shoot. I want him to score. Ang naiisip ko lang mga tipong Allan Caidic, mga gumagawa ng ginawa niya. I’m happy for him. I’m happy for my team. What matters most is the W,” said NLEX head coach Frankie Lim after the game.
Trollano was all over the hardwood, creating shots for his own while also receiving off-the-curl three-point plays mapped out by coach Lim when he got hot from the rainbow country.
What was once a tight ball game suddenly went one-sided after Trollano turned into beast mode midway through the second quarter.
From a six-point lead with 4:48 remaining in the second, Trollano’s scoring frenzy helped NLEX blow the game wide-open with a 17-point lead.
Terrafirma clawed their way back at the start of the third quarter after trimming the lead to just nine points but Trollano saved NLEX once again as his treys protected their double-digit cushion for the rest of the game.
With the win, NLEX improved to 7-3 and is currently ranked as the no. 4 team in the import-laced conference.
If the Road Warriors will take care of their business against the San Miguel Beermen on March 15, 2023, they will have a strong chance of getting the twice-to-beat advantage once the PBA Governor’s Cup quarterfinals kick off.
