Coach Chot Reyes (middle) leads the on-court celebration for TNT after upset Game 3 win over Meralco. —MARLO CUETO
In a twist to its import situation, TNT is bringing a well-known, tested name to fill the massive shoes left by the injured Bol Bol.
Chris McCullough arrived on Sunday as Bol’s substitute and had a preview of what he hopes could be a fruitful stint when he witnessed the Tropang 5G fight it out despite playing all-Filipino in slipping past Meralco, 77-75, on the Mall of Asia Arena.
That gave TNT a 2-1 lead of their best-of-seven series within the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, as McCullough can be tasked to try to replicate his role in San Miguel Beer’s run to the 2019 title of the identical conference where he and the Beermen brought down TNT.
“It’s sad to see an injury like that, but hopefully he can get back home and get surgery,” McCullough said, first expressing his well-wishes to his fellow ex-NBA player.
“I just need to help this team win as [much as] possible, do what I got to do, just play basketball,” he added as TNT now begins the strategy of getting him integrated into the way in which things are run before Wednesday’s Game 4.
His Tropang 5G debut is on the Smart Araneta Coliseum, where he’ll be tasked to steer his latest squad to a commanding 3-1 lead.
McCullough’s signing ends a whirlwind 48 hours for TNT after Bol went down in Friday’s 87-76 Game 2 loss with a partial Achilles tear, as team manager Jojo Lastimosa immediately got the lines burning.
The primary Game 3 option was actually to suit up Malick Diouf, the previous University of the Philippines star, before naming a everlasting fix.
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But with government agencies required to ensure that Diouf to be given the okay to play closed for the weekend, the Tropang 5G were left with no selection but to go together with an all-local crew.
“They called me around Friday night they usually told me if I’m available and I said yes,” Diouf said. “I used to be really excited for it because I assumed it was a fantastic opportunity to point out folks that I can play here. But hopefully I can play soon.”
With each Diouf and McCullough on the sidelines as spectators, TNT’s locals needed to weather out the drawback, in addition to an 11-point deficit, to squeak past Meralco and move two wins away from a fifth consecutive Finals appearance.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser got here up with crucial plays down the stretch, while RR Pogoy knocked down the go-ahead three with seven seconds left before TNT saw CJ Cansino and Javee Mocon miss point-blank attempts as time expired.
“It’s really disappointing losing Bol, losing our teammate, losing our brother,” said Ganuelas-Rosser. “Coach said that he (Bol) messaged him and said he really desired to be on the market. So we desired to exit here and dedicate the sport to him and play for him.
“, he carried us here, so hopefully we will bring (ourselves) across the finish line and we will finish the job,” he added. INQ