NLEX manhandles Championship-weary TNT
Coach Jong Uichico and NLEX believe they caught TNT in a less-desired form on Wednesday that put the latter’s bid to complete a historic Grand Slam with a PBA Philippine Cup championship offtrack.
“Maybe they’re still in a championship hangover,” Uichico said after the Road Warriors’ 91-74 rout of the Tropang 5G at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “But in due time, they’ll be able to recover.”
NLEX admitted being lucky to have beaten TNT, which was just 25 days removed from claiming the Commissioner’s Cup crown, but the manner of how it won convincingly should be beneficial in its own quest to make the playoffs of the season-ending conference.
The Road Warriors improved to 2-1 with back-to-back triumphs as they enter a nine-day break before taking on the Blackwater Bossing on May 2 at newly-built Ynares Center in Montalban, Rizal.
And it will not be just Robert Bolick for NLEX, as seen in this one-sided affair, as rookies Xyrus Torres and JB Bahio came through in the win, which saw TNT trail by a high of 22.
Torres and Bahio scored 13 points apiece, with the latter adding 12 rebounds and four assists in his best performance so far since joining the Road Warriors last November.
Other youngsters also delivered as Enoch Valdez had 10 points and seven assists and Brandon Ramirez 10 points and five boards for NLEX.
TNT dropped its opener, with Commissioner’s Cup Finals MVP Rey Nambatac conceding that the Tropang 5G are still groping for the same form that allowed them to win two titles with import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
“The flow of both our offense and defense is there, but we’re still missing our timing,” Nambatac said in Filipino.
Nambatac had nine points and three rebounds for TNT with RR Pogoy and Kelly Williams producing 12 and 11 points. The Tropang 5G tried to mount a rally, trimming the Road Warriors’ margin to six before seeing themselves fall to another big hole the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial ruled out the staging of this year’s All-Star Weekend after announcing last week’s postponement of the midseason classic in Davao.
Tratter comes home
This is the first since 2002, apart from the pandemic seasons, that the event has been canceled.
In another development, Abu Tratter is making a return to Blackwater for a reunion with coach Jeffrey Cariaso after being traded by NorthPort in exchange for guard James Kwekuteye.
The PBA approved the deal on Wednesday as Tratter heads back to the team he played for during his rookie season in 2019.
Tratter will also be playing once more under Cariaso, who was his coach when he played for Alaska from 2019 until its final season in 2022 and Converge from 2022 to 2023.
The 32-year-old has also played for Magnolia before joining NorthPort prior to the start of the ongoing season.
