QUEST CONTINUES
TNT coach Chot Reyes considers the semifinal series between Rain or Shine as a “battle of contrasts,” with the team that maximizes its strengths likely emerging as the victor down the road.
“Rain or Shine is like No. 1 or No. 2 in almost all offensive categories, and we’re No. 1 in most defensive categories,” Reyes said as the Tropang Giga go for a 2-0 lead in Friday’s Game 2 of their best-of-seven semifinals with the ElastoPainters at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Giga took the opener, 90-81, two nights ago inside Philsports Arena in Pasig City where they needed a four-pointer from import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to shake off the E-Painters and held them to their second-lowest scoring output this conference.
Rain or Shine reached the semifinals on the back of being the second-highest scoring team in the group stage at 112.2 points behind an up-tempo play which TNT was trying to temper, especially allowing just 87.0 points before the playoffs.
Tipoff is at 5 p.m., before Justin Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra go for a similar lead over San Miguel Beer in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
Brownlee dropped 33 points on five four-pointers and three triples in Ginebra’s 122-105 win, that left San Miguel in a quandary as to how it can respond and if it has fully recharged itself after a draining five-game quarterfinal with Converge.
Big concern
Reyes’ counterpart, Yeng Guiao, is optimistic that his young squad can get results regardless of the pace.
“Yes, they may have been able to control the pace better than we did,” said Guiao. “But we accept that we will not always control the pace. You always have to give yourself a chance to win, whether the pace is going your way or not.
“Even if we played at a slower pace, we had a chance [to win]. It’s just that they made one or two plays that decided the game,” he added.
How Rain or Shine approaches its defense on Hollis-Jefferson may play a role in the series. The ex-NBA player flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, five steals and four blocks.
Hollis-Jefferson is not the only man that will serve as a problem for Rain or Shine, with ex-ElastoPainter Rey Nambatac expected to provide more damage for TNT’s cause.
But a big concern for the Tropang Giga is whether veteran Kelly Williams can be available down the road.
Williams left six minutes into Game 1 with an injury on his left calf, and Reyes said the concern is that TNT is in the prospect of losing the player tasked to defend the opponent’s import.
