Plugging a hole
Coach Chot Reyes sees no reason to dwell too much on the loss of Bol Bol as TNT tries to bounce back and break its 1-1 tie with Meralco in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals on Sunday.
The Tropang 5G are set to parade the recently naturalized Malick Diouf as a filler for the 5:15 p.m. contest at Mall of Asia Arena after Bol was ruled out for the rest of the playoffs with a partial tear on his Achilles.
Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine slug it out for a 2-1 lead in the other Game 3 of the semis at 7:30 p.m.
Diouf, who stands 6-foot-11, is best known for his foreign student athlete stint at University of the Philippines. He became a Filipino citizen after the bill filed for his naturalization lapsed into law.
“These are the cards that we’re dealt with,” Reyes said after TNT’s 87-76 loss in Game 2 two nights prior at the same venue. “That’s basketball, that’s sports, that’s part of the game. Injuries are part of the game and there’s nothing we can do about that except to do our best just to cope with it.”
Diouf will plug the import hole as two reinforcements race from across the globe to get here first.
TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa initially floated the names of former NBA player Marquese Chriss and potential Governors Cup hire Darius Days as Bol’s official replacements.
Lastimosa said they are now just waiting for Diouf to complete his papers.
Bol’s injury proved to be a massive blow for the Tropang 5G, who appeared to be getting their groove back after going 6-6 (win-loss) for eighth place in the eliminations.
TNT won Game 1 when Bol played more of a complementary role as locals like RR Pogoy, Calvin Oftana and Jordan Heading came through.
Even after losing Bol, TNT was in a position to take a commanding 2-0 lead, but Meralco found ways to avoid that predicament and put the best-of-seven back on even terms.
For the Bolts, they were glad to capitalize on the advantage they had this time, helped by a lesson they learned when they lost to a Rain or Shine squad that played minus the suspended Jaylen Johnson.
“Sometimes when there’s no import, it can put pressure on [our players],” said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo. “But at this point, it doesn’t matter who you’re facing out there; it’s holding guys to a higher standard. It would be embarrassing for us if we lose [Game 2] to another team without an import.”
Trillo and Meralco are expecting a quality showing from Diouf, but TNT’s local core could use the adversity as a rallying point.
“The thing for us is right now, whoever that import is, he’s not going to be used to the PBA [style of play], so sometimes those things fall to your lap. And we have to take advantage of those opportunities,” said Trillo. “[But] it won’t be an easy game. I’m sure they’re going to get a quality import, but that’s one thing.
“The locals of TNT are another thing, that’s why they in back-to-back Finals [of the Philippine Cup] and those guys are tough,” he added.
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