Khobuntin finds niche, and success, in TNT
TNT forward Glenn Khobuntin saw his teammates pressing on—Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (RHJ) gutting it out on a bum leg, Poy Erram playing through grief, and Calvin Oftana fighting to break his shootingslump.
With the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on the line, he knew Friday’s finalé against Barangay Ginebra was no longer about talent. The match had become a test of wills.
“We just needed to win,” Khobuntin told the Inquirer. “RHJ has been playing hurt, and I wanted to help him. I know everyone’s struggling, especially Poy. So I just left it all out there.”
And that he did. Before 21,274 witnesses at Smart Araneta Coliseum, Khobuntin poured in eight of his 14 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal to will Tropang Giga past Barangay Ginebra in a nerve-wracking fourth period and extra session, his efforts ultimately turning the knob for the telco club’s second-straight crown this season.
A role player for NLEX and Terrafirma, Khobuntin has managed to stay in the league for nearly 10 seasons by relying on his love for the game.
That formula earned him three championships before the conference started. He added a fourth one Friday night.
“I love this game,” he said. “I play for my family, the people who support me, and God, who gives me strength every day.”
At TNT, Khobuntin found not only opportunity but a culture and an environment that elevated him.
“I told my wife at one point that I’d give it all, whichever team I wind up playing for. And now I’m here at TNT. I wasn’t going to take this opportunity for granted, as this was quite the organization—a winning team. And that has kept me going.”
Connectivity
That belief wasn’t actually exclusive to Khobuntin. It was a bond shared across the Tropang Giga, a pillar they built to reach the midseason tournament’s mountaintop.
Hollis-Jefferson referred to it as connectivity—something they had to reset against the crowd darlings.
“I’m proud of these guys, man,” said Hollis-Jefferson. “To be punched how we were punched, you know, with those tough [past] games. We were kind of out of it. Our heads were somewhere else.”
“We may not have the most talented players, but we know how to enjoy the game. We know how to feed off one another,” he went on. “In the losses, I feel like we lost our ‘connectivity.’ And that’s what Chot [Reyes has] preached to us. That’s what brought us back—the belief and the trust in your brother to make those shots.”
Hollis-Jefferson felt Khobuntin repaid that faith in the testy stretch towards the endgame where Justin Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra tried their best to wrest the lead.
“You guys saw him on the court,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “Glenn might have made a turnover or a bad possession. And you know, somebody might have said something to him. It might have been me. But he moved. But we still believed in him. He knew. He felt it. That’s why he was able to make those shots.”
In Game 7, those shots fell. The confetti followed.
And then whispers of a rare Grand Slam, which is something only TNT is capable of chasing this season after clinching back-to-back titles.
TNT had been pushed to the limit, but it never broke. The Tropang Giga pressed on—just as Khobuntin did.
As the team’s fans brace for TNT’s next task, Khobuntin reminded them how things are done at TNT.
“We’ll enjoy this first,” he said with a smile.
