While San Miguel Beer was in a tricky technique of ending off Barangay Ginebra at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night, the entire TNT squad turned the boardroom of the PLDT offices in Makati City right into a proverbial situation room.
That was where the Tropang 5G not only met with their big bosses for a pre-Finals dinner, in addition they used the gathering to observe the Game 7 semis decider before making initial plots for the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup championship series against the Beermen.
“We didn’t need to end the night or go our separate ways without knowing who our opponent is,” said coach Chot Reyes, who has this probability to finish a Grand Slam 14 seasons from his last shot—and against the identical franchise. “We made [the night hitting] two birds with one stone.”
Reyes said the meeting also had some light moments, but there was also a realization of what could lie ahead for TNT because it goals for a spot in PBA history with a historic Triple Crown sweep.
After winning two titles on the expense of Ginebra in Season 49, TNT may have a distinct opponent this time in San Miguel, a team that’s desirous to regain its status as one of the best within the PBA’s most vital conference and relive an old role of being the spoiler 14 years ago.
That season had TNT winning the Philippine Cup and Commissioner’s Cup and was a win shy of completing the feat against San Miguel, then often called Petron.
“I already forgot about that,” Reyes said Friday. “2011 is admittedly ancient history for me, so it’s really not in my consciousness.”At the moment, Reyes had Jimmy Alapag, a young Jayson Castro, Kelly Williams in his prime and a Ryan Reyes that might guard multiple positions, leading his squad. But they couldn’t get the job done and the Blaze Boosters of Arwind Santos and Danny Ildefonso prevented a Triple Crown sweep with a Game 7 win.
One other subplot within the series was the elimination phase of the tournament, which saw the Tropang 5G reel to a 0-3 start heading into their matchup with the Beermen, a possible make-or-break scenario.
TNT not only won behind a 20-20 game from Calvin Oftana plus late heroics from Simon Enciso, it triggered a run that arrange its eventual entry to the PBA’s ultimate stage yet again.
“We actually talked about it amongst ourselves about that game,” Reyes said. “It was our first win, and we thought it was crucial for us. If not, we’d have gone 0-4 and it will have been very difficult for us [to get back on track].
“It was really a turning point and hopefully we are able to proceed to search out ways to compete against San Miguel,” he added.
In fact, the addition of Jordan Heading and the return of Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser from injury also added some layer to TNT’s run that set itself up for potentially atoning for that failed Grand Slam bid.
Reyes kept playing coy when asked of that potential place in PBA annals, but he acknowledged the necessity to face it with “disciplined considering.”
“Just preparing yourself mentally and ensure that you simply’re not allowing your mind to wander,” said Reyes. “And that’s completely inside my control, it doesn’t do with anything outside interference, that’s completely in my control.
“So I just consistently reinforce the things that I do, and that I remind the players as well to shorten your vision to what’s in front now,” he added.