WAY AND MEANS
Injuries seem to be the only concern for TNT now that it is within a win of another PBA Finals appearance.
RR Pogoy’s hamstring injury marred the Tropang 5G’s 102-83 victory that put them up 3-1 in the series over the Meralco Bolts in the Philippine Cup semifinals and coach Chot Reyes emphasized the need for his other players to step up even more.
“There’s no secret that Roger is a big part of what we do offensively and defensively. He’s our best perimeter defensive player,” Reyes said after Sunday’s triumph at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“And without him, it’s just the next man up. Next man up. Injuries are part of any kind of tournament, any kind of playoff run,” he added.
Reyes stopped short of ruling out Pogoy for the potential clincher on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, but he added “things are not looking good” as far as his injury, which he had actually been dealing with since Game 3.
TNT is also playing with ace guard Rey Nambatac, coming off a back problem and a sprained ankle, limiting him to almost three minutes in Game 4.
“We just have to continue to figure out ways and make adjustments,” said Reyes.
With the prospect of two key players either sitting out or seeing limited action, Reyes made mention of how the roles of the Tropang 5G’s other bench players are important at this point.
Reyes gave extended minutes to the likes of Jio Jalalon and Kevin Ferrer during the second half when TNT was well in control. Both were acquired during the offseason with an aim at shoring up the roster.
“The reason why we made the moves that we made in the offseason was precisely for situations like this,” the TNT mentor said. “Because we already know from the past that these things can really happen.
“So it’s just incumbent on the others to fill that void.”
Big lift
The Tropang 5G got a big lift from Poy Erram, who scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half to trigger the rout.
Erram’s minutes have been reduced since he came back from an injury in last season’s Philippine Cup Finals, but he gave himself no reason to dwell on spending most of his time on the bench.
“I’m just trying to be aggressive. And luckily, I was able to shoot my shots,” said Erram.
Meanwhile, Meralco went down deeper in the series with Chris Newsome playing the role of spectator in Game 4 due to an MCL sprain.
Coach Luigi Trillo said Newsome is unlikely to suit up for Wednesday’s survival game, but they will still check to see if there’s a ray of hope for the Bolts’ unquestioned leader to return.
Trillo did acknowledge that the chances of that happening remain bleak.
“At this point, I think his priority is his health and I don’t think he’s going to play [Game 5],” said Trillo.
