Before worrying on what lies ahead, coach Chot Reyes would moderately have TNT self-reflect on what it needs to deal with amid a shaky campaign within the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
“We’ve to repair ourselves first,” said Reyes after the Tropang Giga’s 92-90 survival act on Sunday over the Meralco Bolts at Ninoy Aquino Stadium snapped a two-game slide.
TNT improved to a fair 3-3 slate following the narrow result where Calvin Oftana scored 26 points, including a corner three-pointer entering the ultimate two minutes of the matchup between sibling teams under the ownership of Manny V. Pangilinan.
Meanwhile, Terrafirma stunned Barangay Ginebra, 91-85, in a shocking result to the nightcap that put the team normally floundering at this stage of the eliminations closer toward a rare place within the quarterfinals.
Led by Juami Tiongson and Javi Gomez de Liano, the Dyip climbed to solo fourth with a 4-3 record and defeated the talent-laden Gin Kings for just the second time in franchise history. Their other win got here within the 2021 Philippine Cup.
Ginebra fell to 3-3 after a second straight loss that began with Friday’s setback to unbeaten San Miguel Beer. And next for the Tropang Giga are the NLEX Road Warriors, currently the most popular team inside Pangilinan’s wing with a 5-1 record.
The Road Warriors’ hot streak includes a surprising rout of the Magnolia Hotshots, 87-74, at the identical venue.The Tropang Giga even have Barangay Ginebra (April 19) and the Hotshots (May 5) sandwiched by bouts against struggling sides Phoenix (April 24) and Converge (May 1).
Lopsided losses
“Taking a take a look at the five games, I’ll beg off answering first because we’ve got lots of things to work on,” Reyes said. “Yes, this was win, but I don’t think one win [fixes] things. All of TNT’s wins have are available close margins, with the primary two being a combined 4 points, against Rain or Shine, 108-107, last Feb. 28, and Terrafirma, 100-97, last March 9.
Two of their three defeats were by double-digit margins, the last being a brutal 112-96 shellacking handed by the NorthPort Batang Pier two days earlier at Smart Araneta Coliseum.A 27-point halftime deficit within the NorthPort game prompted the Tropang Giga to go looking itself leading as much as the Bolts contest.
TNT coach Chot Reyes within the PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA IMAGES
TNT was also handed a rough loss by Blackwater earlier within the campaign, 87-76, last March 2.
“I don’t think we’re the mighty TNT,” Reyes lamented. “I believe the earlier we accept that, the higher for us. We cannot win games on talent or simply showing up. We’ve to outwork and outhustle every team we play.
“Our record is the way in which it’s because clearly Blackwater and NorthPort just outworked us. We gave ourselves a probability against San Miguel Beer (in a 91-89 loss last March 17) due to our effort. We lost to a much-better team.”
Meralco fell to 3-4 after making it close despite a 13-point deficit, and the Bolts almost tied it when Aaron Black went for a transition layup within the dying seconds.
But RR Pogoy blocked Black’s attempt, before the Bolts’ Jolo Mendoza missed a game-winning try on the buzzer. INQ
