RIGHT WHERE THEY WANT IT
TNT dismantled defending champion San Miguel Beer on Sunday night for a victory that could shape the landscape of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
For starters, the Tropang Giga’s 115-97 triumph at Ynares Center in Antipolo City gave them a chance at tabbing a twice-to-beat protection in the quarterfinals.
That could also prove galling for the Beermen, whom they pushed to the brink of an early tournament exit—something that the PBA fandom has never seen in 22 conferences, for about 10 years.
And without the vaunted franchise in the knockout phase, that means one less hurdle for Chot Reyes and his charges in their bid for a second straight Governors’ Cup trophy and a second crown this season.
Yet, the seasoned coach wasn’t too keen on crunching all those details. Instead, Reyes stuck with the old-as-time mantra of taking things one game at a time.
“It doesn’t matter even if we’re twice-to-beat or [land on a] best-of-three [series]. We’re still going to face a tough opponent in the quarterfinals,” the 10-time PBA champion coach said.
“We were not thinking of anything else. Before the game, our entire focus was just San Miguel,” he added. “Then we allow the chips to fall where they may. Now, that remaining chip is Rain or Shine, and we have to be prepared for that.”
TNT takes on the Elastopainters on Friday.
Ranged against possible scenarios, Reyes’ outlook seems to be justified.
TNT, which can finish the elimination phase as No. 2 at best, could be taking on a seventh seed that could be Rain or Shine, Magnolia or NLEX—squads whose current records don’t quite represent their actual capabilities and could render a twice-to-beat protection useless.
Worst case for TNT
Finishing in the middle of the standings would mean the Tropang Giga could be facing any team from the dangerous lot made up of Converge, Hong Kong, Barangay Ginebra, and even their sister team Meralco.
Following Sunday’s loss, San Miguel could only dream that it has the same kind of problems.
At 5-7, the Beermen, the league’s proverbial bar for excellence, now needs NLEX and Magnolia to lose their respective last games in the elimination round to have a chance at a playoff for the eighth and last berth.
Reyes said that what’s foremost in his mind now is how his crew was able to carry out strategies against the Beermen to the hilt, which is going to be critical as they navigate the rest of the tournament.
“We were able to execute a game plan, and I think that’s very, very important moving forward regardless of whatever results are going to be in the future,” he said, his words a seemingly perfect adornment to the way the Tropang Giga have been playing, winning eight of their last nine games.
“I think that’s the main significance of this game for us.”
